Group calls for second attempt to ‘uproot’ US Embassy in Baghdad

BAGHDAD — Accounts linked to Iran-aligned armed factions are calling for a fresh march on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Sunday evening, with the “Central Popular Committee” setting an 8:30 p.m. assembly at the Suspension Bridge and urging supporters to march toward what it called “the embassy of evil.”

“We call on our dear Iraqi people to gather and set off from the Suspension Bridge toward the embassy of evil to uproot it. This is the beginning of our response to aggression and violation of sovereignty,” the committee said in a statement.

Earlier Sunday morning, angry protesters gathered at the same bridge in an attempt to breach the Green Zone and demonstrate outside the U.S. Embassy in protest over the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Security forces dispersed the crowd with tear gas and water cannons.

The committee’s statement expressed condolences over Khamenei’s death, describing him as “the symbol of the nation of resistance and confrontation against arrogance,” and declared “absolute solidarity with the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Khamenei was killed Saturday during coordinated U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. His death prompted the Iraqi government to declare three days of nationwide mourning. Several Iran-aligned armed groups have threatened attacks on U.S. bases, while Iraqi authorities have maintained heightened security and kept key bridges leading to the Green Zone closed.