The US drone strike that killed Iranian military commander Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani at Baghdad airport last Friday has not only resulted in increased tensions between Washington and Tehran, but has also fueled resentment against Washington in Baghdad, where Iraq’s Parliament on Sunday adopted a nonbinding vote to expel the US military from its country.
In response to the vote, US President Donald Trump threatened to impose sanctions on Iraq if the government would take steps to expel troops. He stated that the US has “spent a lot of money in Iraq,” and has “a very extraordinarily expensive air base that’s there,” adding that “we’re not leaving unless they pay us back for it.” Trump threatened to hit Iraq with sanctions that would be more severe than the current US sanctions targeting Iran.
