Kiev building up forces near Artyomovsk, getting ready for major battle — former officer

©Andrey Rubtsov/TASS

Ukraine is building up troops and equipment near Artyomovsk, a town known in Ukraine as Bakhmut, suggesting Kiev is preparing to stage a massive battle in the area, Andrey Marochko, a retired lieutenant-colonel of the People’s Militia of the Lugansk People’s Republic, said on Monday.

"We are now observing the buildup of forces and means in this area. [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky said that they would not leave Artyomovsk, and he has backed this up with real action as increasing numbers of fresh forces are being deployed there. The armed forces of Ukraine continue to assemble a group there.... Zelensky has now decided to stage a grandiose battle there. Perhaps he has in mind some counteroffensive actions there," Marochko said on Komsomolskaya Pravda radio.

He also said that the Ukrainian servicemen that have been trained at Western boot camps are now starting to arrive in the combat area. According to Marochko, they are quite well trained. He noted that Western-provided armored vehicles are already moving from western Ukraine to the engagement line.

There have been no reports yet of tanks reaching the combat area. What is known is that there is a large number of wheeled armored vehicles on the way, as well as multiple launch rocket systems, Marochko said.

"We are detecting this. Ukrainian troops do have muscle, thanks to the so-called Western partners," he said.

Earlier, Marochko told TASS that Ukraine had significantly beefed up its troops in the major settlements to the west of Artyomovsk: Slavyansk, Kramatorsk and Druzhkovka. He said columns of wheeled and tracked armored vehicles pass through these towns during nighttime to move toward Artyomovsk.

Following the start of the Russian special military operation, the West has stepped up supplies of arms and military equipment to Kiev, assistance whose value has reached billions of dollars by now. For example, Germany said earlier this year that it will send Ukraine 14 Leopard 2 tanks. Plans to provide Kiev with Western-made tanks were also announced by the UK, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, the US, France and some other countries.

Many countries have started to invite Ukrainian troops for training in the operation of Western vehicles. According to Ukrainian General Viktor Nazarov, about 50,000 troops from Ukraine have been trained in the West to date in accordance with NATO standards.

Battles for Artyomovsk

Artyomovsk is the scene of fierce battles. According to Yan Gagin, an adviser to the interim head of the Donetsk People’s Republic, Russian forces control up to 70% of the town. Paved roads leading to the town have either been cut off or are reachable by Russian artillery fire, which has made it much harder for Ukrainian forces there to get supplies.

Yet, interim head of the Donetsk People’s Republic Denis Pushilin has said multiple times there’s no indication that Ukrainian forces are planning to withdraw from Artyomovsk. Kiev has said the town’s defenses will be fortified. Zelensky previously said Ukrainian forces wouldn’t surrender Artyomovsk and would fight for the city as long as they could.

Special operation, March 20. Main:

Putin told Xi Jinping in the Kremlin about his intention to discuss China's plan for Ukraine

▪️The leader of China, according to the Financial Times, may call Zelensky after a visit to Moscow

▪️Biden really wants to talk to the leader of China, but the call is not yet scheduled, the White House said

▪️Peskov, commenting on the prospects for peace talks on Ukraine, said that the West does not yet allow the hostilities to slow down

▪️EU countries have reached an agreement on a plan to supply Kyiv with ammunition for 2 billion euros, Agence France-Presse reported

▪️The United States is providing Ukraine with a new $350 million military aid package, US Secretary of State Blinken said.

▪️In the Kupyansk direction, Ukraine's losses amounted to 55 military, in the South-Donetsk and Zaporozhye directions - more than 50, in Kherson - up to 40, the Russian Defense Ministry reported

▪️In the Donetsk direction, the loss of Kyiv in a day is more than 245 military, in the Krasnolymansk direction - more than 100, the department noted

▪️Russian aviation and artillery defeated 82 Ukrainian artillery units in 112 districts during the day, the Ministry of Defense reported.

Russian Investigative Committee opens criminal case against ICC prosecutor, judges

©Anton Novoderezhkin/TASS

Russia’s Investigative Committee said on Monday it has opened a criminal case against the prosecutor and judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) who issued a warrant for the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"The Russian Investigative Committee initiated a criminal case against prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Ahmad Khan, judges of the International Criminal Court Tomoko Akane, Rosario Salvatore Aitala, and Sergio Gerardo Ugalde Godinez," it said.

According to the Committee, the case against the prosecutor was opened on charges of criminal prosecution of an innocent person with illegal charges of committing a grave or especially grave crime, as well as of plotting an attack on a foreign official enjoying international protection with the aim of aggravating international relations (part 2 of article 299, part 1 of article 30, and part 2 of article 360 of the Russian Criminal Code).

The judges are accused of illegal imprisonment and plotting an attack on a foreign official enjoying international protection with the aim of aggravating international relations (part 2 of article 301, part 1 of article 30, and part 2 of article 360 of the Russian Criminal Code).

The Committee recalled that on March 22, ICC prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan lodged a motion with the ICC Pre-Trial Division for issuing a warrant for the arrest of Russian citizens and the judges returned illegal verdicts on the arrest of the Russian president and children’s rights ombudswoman.

"The criminal case is knowingly unlawful, since there are no grounds for bringing them to criminal responsibility," the Investigative Committee stressed, adding that in accordance with the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons dated December 14, 1973, heads of state enjoy absolute immunity from the jurisdiction of foreign states.

Kremlin ‘unfazed’ by Putin arrest warrant

The Russian leadership has taken note of the arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin announced by the International Criminal Court (ICC) last week but is not affected by it, Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov has said. It is just one of many attacks on Russia and its leader, he explained.

“We take notice [of such things], but if we were to take to heart every hostile action, certainly nothing good would come out of it,” Peskov told journalists on Monday. “We are unfazed” and keep working, he added.

The ICC’s pre-trial chamber announced on Friday that it was seeking the arrests of Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, the presidential commissioner for children’s rights. They are suspected of “unlawful deportation of population,” including children, which is how Kiev describes what Moscow regards as the evacuation to safety of civilians from territories at risk of attacks by Ukrainian troops.

The court acts on the authority of the Rome Statute, an international treaty that Russia never ratified and from which it fully withdrew in 2016. Several other major world powers, including the US, China, and India, do not recognize the ICC either. Washington infamously derailed the court’s attempt to investigate war crimes allegedly committed in Iraq and Afghanistan by US troops and their allies under President Donald Trump.

The Russian government dismissed the arrest warrant as irrelevant. Former President Dmitry Medvedev, who currently serves as deputy chair of the National Security Council, called the court earlier on Monday a “puny international organization.”

The ICC couldn’t even take into custody former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who was ousted from power in 2019, Medvedev noted. Its move against Putin was performative and only further degrades the system of international law, which is already under strain due to its pro-Western bias, the official argued.

Credit Suisse Rescue Fails to Quell Contagion Fears as Banking Stocks Plummet

Buildings of Swiss banks UBS and Credit Suisse are seen on the Paradeplatz in Zurich, Switzerland March 20, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

Banking stocks and bonds plummeted on Monday as the hit to investors from UBS Group’s state-backed takeover of Credit Suisse fanned concerns about the health of the global banking sector.

UBS shares fell by as much as 16% in early trade, their biggest one-day fall since 2008, amid concerns among investors about the long-term benefits of the deal and the outlook for banks in Switzerland, a country once seen a paragon of sound banking.

In a package engineered by Swiss regulators on Sunday, UBS Group AG will pay 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.23 billion) for 167-year-old Credit Suisse Group AG and assume up to $5.4 billion in losses.

https://ajo.prod.reuters.tv/rest/v2/playlist/assets/555893/web.m3u8

Investor focus has now shifted to the massive blow some Credit Suisse bondholders will take under the UBS acquisition, which has added to anxiety about other key risks including contagion and the fragile state of U.S. regional banks.

European bank shares slumped, with an index of leading lenders .SX7P down 5.8%. German banking giants Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank dropped 10.9% and 8.5%, respectively, while France’s BNP Paribas fell 8.2%.

Those sharp moves followed a day of heavy selling in Asian financial markets as early investor optimism about official efforts to stem a banking crisis quickly evaporated.

“It should be clear that after more than a week into the banking panic, and two interventions organized by the authorities, this problem is not going away. Quite the contrary, it has gone global,” said Mike O’Rourke, chief market strategist, Jones Trading.

Credit Suisse shares slumped 62%, reflecting the huge loss its shareholders will see in their investment in the bank.

Source: SNB via Reuters

Under the deal, the Swiss regulator decided that Credit Suisse’s additional tier-1 bonds – or AT1 bonds – with a notional value of $17 billion will be valued at zero, angering some of the holders of the debt who thought they would be better protected than shareholders in the takeover deal announced on Sunday.

Credit Suisse’s Additional Tier 1 bonds dropped sharply in early European trade with a number of dollar-denominated issues bid at 2 cents on the dollar, Tradeweb data showed.

Coordinated Action

The fresh tumble in bank shares comes as investors shrugged off promises by top central banks over the weekend to provide dollar liquidity to stabilize the financial system.

In a global response not seen since the height of the pandemic, the U.S. Federal Reserve said it had joined central banks in Canada, England, Japan, the EU and Switzerland in a coordinated action to enhance market liquidity.

The European Central Bank vowed to support euro zone banks with loans if needed, adding the rescue of Credit Suisse was “instrumental” in restoring calm.

The banking sector lurched into crisis earlier in March with failure of U.S. lenders Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank before ensnaring its biggest name yet in Credit Suisse

Problems remain in the U.S. banking sector, where shares are still under pressure despite a move by several large banks to deposit $30 billion into First Republic Bank, another institution rocked by the failures of Silicon Valley and Signature Bank.

On Sunday, First Republic saw its credit ratings downgraded deeper into junk status by S&P Global, which said the deposit infusion may not solve its liquidity problems, and its shares fell 22% in premarket dealing on Monday.

Questions for UBS

The shotgun Swiss banking marriage is backed by a massive government guarantee, helping prevent what would have been one of the largest banking collapses since the fall of Lehman Brothers in 2008.

The deal will also make UBS Switzerland’s only global bank and the Swiss economy more dependent on a single lender.

“The Credit Suisse debacle will have serious ramifications for other Swiss financial institutions. A country-wide reputation with prudent financial management, sound regulatory oversight, and, frankly, for being somewhat dour and boring regarding investments, has been wiped away,” said Octavio Marenzi, CEO of Opimas, in Vienna.

On Monday, Credit Suisse’s banking operations appeared to be business as usual at its major offices in Asia.

Monetary authorities in Singapore and Hong Kong, where Credit Suisse hosts large regional offices, separately said the Swiss bank’s business continued without interruption.

And Credit Suisse urged its staff to go to work, according to a memo to staff seen by Reuters.

In a separate memo, the bank said as part of the takeover if job cuts proved necessary it would be communicated to staff as per guidelines. The bank will also pay bonuses as communicated before and as per schedule, the memo added.

Credit Suisse staff arriving to work in Hong Kong and Singapore on Monday morning, however, fretted about retrenchments and retaining business.

UBS CEO Ralph Hamers said there were still many details to be worked through.

“I know that there must be still questions that we have not been able to answer,” he said. “And I understand that and I even want to apologize for it.”

($1 = 0.9280 Swiss francs)

Munggahan Santri Ciamis

Acara Munggahan Santri se Kabupaten Ciamis digelar di Stadion Galuh berlangsung meriah, hari Senin, 20/03/2023.

Ribuan santri dari berbagai pondok pesantren Kabupaten Ciamis, Jawa Barat, berkumpul di Stadion Galuh, dalam rangka munggahan bersama jelang bulan Ramadhan, hari Senin, 20/03/2023.

Terlihat para santri ini semangat dan antusias untuk menyambut bulan Ramadhan. Mereka mengenakan pakaian serba putih memenuhi tempat penonton Stadion Galuh. Ada juga santri dari Pondok Pesantren Miftahul Huda 2 berbaris di tengah lapang. Mereka menampilkan tari saman dari Aceh.

Santri yang hadir sekitar 15 ribu orang yang masuk Stadion Galuh. Tapi ternyata masih banyak santri lainnya yang datang dan tidak masuk ke stadion. Munggahan santri ii berlangsung meriah. Selain tari saman, juga ada tari permainan sarung.

Di tengah acara, hujan deras mengguyur kawasan Stadion Galuh Ciamis. Meski demikian, para santri tetap semangat mengikuti acara sampai selesai. Mereka rela basah-basahan dan tak beranjak dari tempatnya masing-masing.

“Menjelang bulan Ramadhan ini mari kita bersatu padu tanpa ada sekat, baik pesantren, organisasi massa dan pilihan politik. Semuanya bersatu menyambut bulan Ramadhan, membangun kebersamaan, kesatuan pesantren Ciamis,” ujar Ketua Forum Silaturahmi Pondok Pesantren (FSPP) Ciamis KH Nonop Hanafi.

Nonop menyebut dalam munggahan ini juga ada 1001 kastrol liwet khas pesantren. Kastrol dari para santri yang dibawa dari masing-masing pesantren. Itu untuk bekal botram bersama usai acara. Namun karena hujan pelaksanaan botram tersebut jadinya pada setiap penempatan mobil masing-masing.

“Karena hujan, 1001 kastrol ini mereka makan di setiap penempatan mobil masing-masing. Memang setiap tahun, namun munggahan tahun ini animonya lebih besar kita libatkan seluruh organisasi massa Islam,” ungkap Nonop.

6.000 Mushaf Quran Dibagikan saat Munggahan Santri Ciamis

Dalam munggahan ini juga ada pembagian 6.000 mushaf Al Qur’an untuk komunitas pesantren Ciamis. Mushaf itu dari para agnia (dermawan) pengusaha asli Ciamis.

“Tentunya bersyukur kepada Allah bisa kolaborasi dengan agnia. Termasuk juga bus jemputan untuk para santri. Terima kasih juga kepada Bupati Ciamis atas stadion yang digunakan untuk para santri,” terangnya.

Harapan dari munggahan santri ini, para santri dan kiai bersatu padu menanam semangat menuturkan ilmu, dakwah dan kebangsaan. Santri harus melanjutkan estafet perjuangan.

Seluruh santri di Ciamis datang dari seluruh pelosok Nusantara. Kita gema kan bahwa Ciamis kota pesantren

Sementara itu, Bupati Ciamis Herdiat Sunarya merasa bahagia dan bangga ribuan santri bisa memenuhi Stadion Galuh Ciamis. Hal ini tentunya bisa menjadi keberkahan bagi stadion. Keberkahan juga dapat dirasakan PSGC Ciamis supaya bisa mengikuti kompetisi di level lebih tinggi.

“Saya atas nama pribadi keluarga dan Pemerintah Daerah Ciamis menyampaikan maaf yang setulus tulus nya. Selama menjalankan roda pemerintahan banyak kekurangan kekhilafan dan kealpaan. Semoga dalam melaksanakan ibadah puasa diterima Allah SWT,” pungkasnya.

Xi Jinping arrives in Russia on state visit

©Sergei Savostyanov/TASS

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Russia on Monday for a state visit, a TASS correspondent reported.

The Chinese leader's plane landed at Moscow's Vnukovo airport around 12:59 Moscow time.

According to TASS, the Chinese Hongqi (Red Banner) car waits for the country’s president outside the airport.

Xi Jinping's state visit to Russia will last from March 20 to 22. The Russian Federation is the first country the Chinese leader has visited since his March 10 reelection to a third term by the National People's Congress (parliament). According to diplomatic protocol, state visit is the highest in the gradation of foreign visits.

Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov told reporters that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping will hold face-to-face talks in the Kremlin on Monday afternoon. The talks will continue on March 21, when the leaders will be joined by members of delegations.

In addition, Xi Jinping is scheduled to meet with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on Tuesday morning. Ushakov also noted that the visit would be strictly a business visit, "there will be no additional protocol stuff, the main thing is negotiations, negotiations and negotiations."

China ready to uphold UN-centric international system together with Russia — Xi

China, together with Russia, is determined to uphold the UN-centric international system in today's troubled world and to safeguard a world order based on international law, Chinese President Xi Jinping said upon his arrival in Moscow on Monday.

"In a troubled world, China is ready to act in concert with Russia to firmly uphold the UN-centric international system, safeguard the world order based on international law and the fundamental norms of international relations relying on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, support true multilateralism, promote multipolarity in the world, democratize international relations and promote global governance on a more just and rational track," Xi said.

China and Russia, as major powers and permanent members of the UN Security Council, play an important role in international affairs, he pointed out.

Xi expects that during the visit he will have a detailed exchange of views with Russian President Vladimir Putin on bilateral relations and major regional and international topics of mutual interest, as well as outline a plan for strategic interaction and practical cooperation.

"I am confident that the visit will be fruitful and give new impetus to the healthy and stable development of China-Russia relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation in a new era," Xi stressed.

Xi Jinping arrived on Monday on a state visit to Russia. His plane landed at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport Monday afternoon.

Xi Jinping will stay in Russia from March 20-22. The two leaders are expected to discuss the conflict in Ukraine among other topics of joint interest. Chinese president said in an article for RIA Novosti and Rossiyskaya Gazeta that his upcoming trip to Russia would be aimed at strengthening peace and friendship between the two countries, and he expressed his willingness to work on new plans to develop the bilateral ties together with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Xi Expects to Discuss Important Regional, Int'l Topics of Mutual Interest With Putin

Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday that he expects to discuss important regional and international issues of mutual interest during with talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"I expect that during the visit, I will thoroughly exchange views with president Vladimir Putin on issues of bilateral relations and important regional and international topics of mutual interest, and outline a plan for developing strategic interaction and practical cooperation," Xi said upon his arrival in Moscow.

"I am confident that the visit will be fruitful and will give a new impetus to the healthy and stable development of China-Russia relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation in a new era," Xi said.

Facts About Putin-Xi Meeting in Moscow

• Presidents Xi and Putin will hold a face-to-face conversation over an informal lunch on 20 March, followed by negotiations on 21 March;



• This is Xi's first foreign trip since being re-elected;



• Moscow and Beijing are satisfied with the state of bilateral relations, this is a strategic interaction of partners;



• Personal contacts between Putin and Xi are of trusting nature – in total, the leaders have met about 40 times;



• Both parties will discuss the conflict in Ukraine, as well as will issues of military and technical cooperation

Xi Jinping’s ‘Landmark’ Visit to Moscow Shows US Plan to Isolate Russia ‘Backfired Spectacularly

The three-day state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Russia at the invitation of President Vladimir Putin bespeaks the point that attempts by the West to isolate Moscow in light of the special military operation in Ukraine are failing, said Dr. Gerald Horne, professor of history at the University of Houston, Texas.

The visit of Chinese leader Xi Jinping to Russia is potentially a landmark one, author and historian Dr. Gerald Horne told Sputnik. It is glaring proof of the fact that no matter how vehemently Washington sought to isolate Russia, its plans backfired, he added.

The three-day visit of China’s president at the invitation of his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, is taking place on March 20-22, 2023. This is a year that historians of the future may group with other “bookmarks of an era,” like 1989 and the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the researcher stated. The dissolution of the USSR in 1989 marked the start of an era of so-called unipolarity, when the United States was left as the so-called sole remaining superpower, Gerald Horne underscored.

“2023 will mark what has been in motion for years now, which is multipolarity. But perhaps even more than multipolarity, we see China in the passing lane. I think also that this visit bespeaks the point that the attempt to isolate Moscow in light of the special military operation in Ukraine is not going very well,” the American history professor said.

He went on to point out the widely-known fact that in 2022, Russia’s economic growth in many ways outstripped, for example, the economic growth of Britain, which has been “at the tip of the spear with regard to opposing this special military operation.”

The current developments are, to a great degree, the result of Washington’s “maniacal obsession” with Moscow, the researcher emphasized.

Half a century ago, there was a drive for major US corporations to embark on massive direct foreign investment in the People's Republic of China, he noted.

“That's what led to the entente with China over a half century ago… Because of a desire to encircle the Soviet Union, the United States cut a deal with China. But now that deal obviously has backfired in a spectacular fashion. And what's even more remarkable is that rather than seeking to pivot, to try to somehow slow down this economic juggernaut in China, you see US imperialism bogged down once again with regard to confronting Moscow.”

China has come out as the beneficiary, the researcher pointed out. Beijing has continued boosting its growing economic, military, and diplomatic potential, despite the US ramping up its military deployments and diplomatic engagement with Asian partners to try to hem in China, both militarily and diplomatically. Meanwhile, all of the US-led attempts to isolate Russia failed.

As for Washington, the Biden administration is overestimating its strength if it believes that it can take on both Moscow and Beijing as "threats" simultaneously, the historian suggested. European states are showing more foresight, according to Dr. Gerald Horne. Case in point is how German Chancellor Olaf Scholz travelled to Beijing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in November 2022 – the first European leader to do so in three years. French President Emmanuel Macron is also set to visit China in April.

But Washington, whose dominating foreign policy thrust has been to isolate Russia, is clearly in some ways going to find itself isolated, Dr. Gerald Horne of Houston University stressed.

Anatomy of a disaster

Two decades later, Iraqis are still paying the price for Bush's ill-judged war

Twenty years ago, on March 19, 2003, a US-led coalition invaded Iraq. Two claims were put forward by the Americans and their British allies to justify the unprecedented overthrow by force of the leadership of a sovereign state: that President Saddam Hussein possessed and was preparing to use weapons of mass destruction, and that his regime had been complicit in the Sept. 11 attacks on America by Al-Qaeda in 2001.

Both claims proved to be false.

On Sept. 18, 2001, one week after the 9/11 attacks, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi ambassador to Washington, visited US President George W. Bush in the White House.

As Bruce Riedel, a member of Bush’s National Security Council, would later recall, when the president told the ambassador that he thought Iraq was behind the attacks, “Bandar was visibly perplexed.”

The prince, Riedel said, “told Bush that the Saudis had no evidence of any collaboration between (Al-Qaeda leader) Osama bin Laden and Iraq. Indeed, their history was of being antagonists.”

But Bush “was obsessed with the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and deliberately misled the American people about who was responsible for the 9/11 attack ... Consequently, the United States went to war in Iraq on a false pretense that it was somehow avenging those killed by Al-Qaeda.”

In an article published on the Lawfare blog on Sept. 11, 2021, Riedel wrote that after meeting Bush at the White House “Bandar told me privately that the Saudis were very worried about where Bush’s obsession with Iraq was going. The Saudis were alarmed that attacking Iraq would only benefit Iran and set in motion severe destabilizing repercussions across the region.”

It was a prediction that would come to pass, with horrifying consequences that echo down to this day.

This is the story of how the US and its allies falsified or deliberately misrepresented intelligence to justify an invasion that, in hindsight, proved unjustifiable.

It is also the story of the human cost of that invasion, for which the people of Iraq are continuing to pay a heavy price.

As a study of the war published in 2019 by the US Army would conclude, only one winner emerged from the years of civil war and insurgency that followed the US invasion and occupation: Iran.

Iran Reminds West of Its Other Iraq War Crime: Giving Saddam Hussein Chemical Weapons

Sunday will mark the 20th anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq to oust Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein from power and "end the tyranny in Iraq," as former President George W. Bush once put it. It's become a largely forgotten fact of history, but Washington was actually an ally to Baghdad during the brutal Iran-Iraq War of 1980-1988.

A senior Iranian diplomat has called out Western hypocrisy on human rights by pointing to the thousands of Iranian and Iraqi civilians killed in chemical attacks during the Iran-Iraq War using weapons provided by the US and its allies.

"The results of arming Saddam’s regime with chemical weapons by Germany, the United States, France, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands are as follows: 13,000 deaths and 130,000 injured by chemical weapons in Iran, including 130 killed and 8,000 injured in Sardasht, 5,000 killed and 10,000 injured in Halabja," Iranian Judiciary deputy chief for international affairs Kazem Gharibabadi tweeted, referencing the Iraqi chemical attacks in western Iran and Iraqi Kurdistan in June 1987 and March 1988.

“Attn: human rights advocates: this is also a crime against humanity. Please deal with it,” Gharibabadi added.

The official's comments, which came as a response to a European Parliament resolution demanding a probe into a string of mysterious poisonings (which the parliament linked to "peaceful protests demanding democracy', but which Iranian officials said is tied to a covert "hybrid war against the country") come after months of rising tensions between Tehran and Brussels over EU attempts to interfere in the Middle Eastern nation's affairs. They also come ahead of the 20th anniversary of the March 19, 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.

Although Washington had a falling out with Saddam Hussein after Baghdad's 1990 invasion of Kuwait, Iraq and the US were close partners during the Iran-Iraq War –the brutal, eight-year conflict that began in 1980 when Hussein, seeking to take advantage of unrest in Iran following the 1979 Revolution, invaded the Islamic Republic to try and seize the oil-rich province of Khuzestan.

The US and its NATO allies began funneling billions of dollars in weapons, dual-use technology, and military technology to Baghdad after a string of defeats reversed Iraq’s fortunes, and a series of Kurdish uprisings in the country’s north threatened the country with collapse. This included the sale of chemical weapon precursors, as well as chemical warfare equipment.

The Iraqi Army began using chemical weapons against Iran on a large scale from late 1983 onward, killing thousands of soldiers and civilians and sickening over 100,000 more in over 350 large-scale gas attacks. After the war, Iraq acknowledged that it had used 1,800 tons of mustard gas, 600 tons of sarin gas, and 140 tons of tabun, a toxic nerve agent.

Iran also had stockpiles of chemical weapons in its arsenal during the war, but never used them, notwithstanding its legal right to do so under international law. The Islamic republic was one of the first countries to destroy its chemical stockpiles, completing their elimination when it ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention in 1997.

In 2018, the United States accused Iran of operating a secret chemical weapons program, in breach of its commitments under the CWC. Iran denied the claims and pointed out that the US has one of the largest declared stockpiles of chemical weapons in the world, with the timeline for their destruction pushed back over the decades in spite of Washington's pledge to eliminate them in the early 1990s.

Iraq began to destroy its chemical weapons stockpiles in the 1990s after being required to do so by the United Nations Security Council. By the time the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq rolled around, Saddam Hussein had eliminated the country's chemical weapons and other weapons of mass destruction programs, forcing the Bush administration to fabricate evidence of Iraqi WMDs as a pretext to justify the invasion.