Crowds gather in Baghdad to celebrate ceasefire, hailing it as Iranian ‘victory’

BAGHDAD — Hundreds of people gathered in Tahrir Square in central Baghdad on Wednesday following the announcement of a 14-day U.S.-Iran ceasefire, with crowds chanting slogans and raising Iranian flags and describing the truce as a victory for Iran and its allied factions.

“Praise be to God for this great victory achieved by the Shiites. Congratulations to the Islamic Republic and the axis of resistance, who achieved a victory,” said participant Mustafa al-Moussawi.

Ahmed al-Moussawi said: “Congratulations to the Shiites on this great victory, and congratulations to the Islamic Republic and the Popular Mobilization Forces, and to all resistance factions that achieved victory over the American aggression.”

Hussein Hamid was more pointed: “Congratulations to the Islamic Republic on this great victory. Congratulations to the Shiites in Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen; we have humiliated Trump and Netanyahu. Mojtaba Khamenei was able to humiliate Trump and the American aggression and achieved victory over them.”

The ceasefire is a temporary two-week agreement that includes steps toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz and is expected to be followed by negotiations mediated by Pakistan. The conflict began in late February when U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran triggered weeks of missile and drone exchanges across the region, drawing in multiple countries and severely disrupting global energy routes.