The deputy head of the Iranian Judiciary for international affairs, Ali Bagheri, said Feb. 15 that “Iran and Iraq are following up on the judicial dossier relating to the assassination of Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani,” who was killed in a US airstrike that hit his vehicle Jan. 3 along with Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander in the Popular Mobilization Units.

Bagheri said, “There is a joint action with Iraq, and judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi spoke to his Iraqi counterpart over the phone.”

Al-Monitor tried to communicate with the Supreme Judicial Council of Iraq and the spokesperson for the council to learn about how Iraq is responding to Iran in this regard and how serious the Iranian statements are. It is seemingly a sensitive topic that the council refuses to raise. The Iraqi judges and legal experts that Al-Monitor contacted also refrained from making any comments.

The spokesman for the Iranian judiciary, Gholam Hossein Ismaili, said Feb. 4, “Soleimani's family will file a lawsuit against those involved in his assassination, and that a file that reached a serious stage was already prepared in Iraq.” This statement consists of another affirmation that Iran is seeking to put Iraq on its side in the judicial file.