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Millions of Iraqi people convened in the capital city of Baghdad today to deplore the US military presence in the country.Moon of Alabama tracked the West's coverage of the event:
According to Iraq's local media, people from "all of the Iraqi provinces" have gathered in the ongoing rally to condemn the Americans' illegal presence in the country, after the US assassinated top Iranian commander Lieutenant General Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in Baghdad earlier this month.
The protesters are carrying banners and chanting slogans calling for the expulsion of US forces.
During the rallies, the Influential Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr lashed out at the United States for its illegal military presence in Iraq, saying, "If the US government does not agree to leave Iraq, it will be considered and treated as an occupying state and enemy."
Baghdad should revoke all security agreements with the US and ban the US from conducting military operations in its skies, he added.
The demonstrators are planned to gather at the intersection of Baghdad University in the Jadriyah neighborhood.
Iraqis in Karbala city, south of Baghdad, were also seen boarding buses heading towards the capital.
The rally comes after influential Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called on Iraqis to stage "a million-strong, peaceful, unified demonstration to condemn the American presence and its violations" last week.
On January 5, the Iraqi parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of a resolution calling for the expulsion of all US-led forces in the country two days after Washington assassinated Soleimani and Muhandis.
Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council praised the Iraqi people's massive turnout to the anti-US rallies that were held in Baghdad on Friday, saying Washington should await new displays of regional power.
Shamkhani hailed epic rallies in Baghdad against US illegal presence. Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani, in a statement, commended the Iraqi government, parliament, and nation for the epic demonstrations to deplore the US' illegal military presence in the country.
He described the rally as a sign of Iraqis' pioneering role in the expulsion of the Americans from the region.
Shamkhani said the Iraqis rallying in million showed that the US' threat of sanctions has become nothing but a fruitless effort, which cannot undermine the will and unity of the nations that pursue their national sovereignty and independence.
"The countdown to the US' expulsion from the region started on the early hours of Friday, January 3, and Washington is getting closer to the end of its presence in the region day by day," he added.
The top Iranian security official was referring to the US assassination of top Iranian anti-terror commander Lieutenant General Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandes on January 3.
On January 5, the Iraqi parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of a resolution calling for the expulsion of all foreign forces after the US assassination of Iran's senior Iranian and Iraqi commanders.
On January 7, Iran's IRGC targeted the US airbase of Ain al-Assad in Anbar province in western Iraq after launching a wave of attacks to retaliate the terrorist move.
Today's massive rally came after influential cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called on Iraqis to stage "a million-strong, peaceful, unified demonstration to condemn the American presence and its violations".
Sadr issued a statement on Friday calling for US bases to be shut down and Iraqi airspace closed to US warplanes and surveillance aircraft.
He warned that US presence in the country will be dealt with as an occupying force if Washington does not agree with Iraqi demands to withdraw for the country.
At 10:01 UTC today the Associated Press tweeted that "hundreds" gather in central Baghdad to demand that American troops leave the country.
Thirty eight minutes earlier CNN had already reported that "hundreds of thousands" are protesting in Baghdad against the U.S. troop presence in Iraq.
When AP sent the misleading tweet the commander of the Iraqi Federal Police Forces Jaffar al-Batat had already announced that the number of demonstrators exceeds one million.
That number may well be correct. Reports said that the column of protesters was already eight kilometers long even while many were still arriving.
The massive numbers demanding the US go home is impressive. The empires propaganda machine cannot turn this one around.