In a first, Abu Hussain al-Hamidawi, the secretary-general of the Iran-allied Kataeb Hezbollah group, released a statement completely rejecting any confiscation of resistance weapons, a popular demand of Iraqis in the last few years. The statement’s release coincided with Kataeb Hezbollah and other armed factions loyal to Iran holding rallies to commemorate the first anniversary of the US assassination of the Iranian commander of the Quds Force, General Qassem Soleimani, and the deputy chief of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. On January 3, 2020, a US drone strike near the Baghdad International Airport killed Soleimani and Muhandis. Hamidawi’s statement urged revenge for the assassination. “Our presence today is an authorization letter; To hurry with revenge, our blood is still boiling,” he said. Analysts believe that the militia leader’s words green-light retaliatory operations against US presence in Iraq. Tensions between Iran and the US have risen ahead of the anniversary, with both sides trading warnings of retaliation in the event of aggression by the other. Nevertheless, many pointed out how Hamidawi’s statement conflicts with statements he later gave ahead of Sunday’s rally. He said that the group’s members would not seek to “enter the embassy of evil today,” referring to the US Embassy in Baghdad. On December 31, 2019, PMF supporters, which include members of Kataeb Hezbollah, staged a violent show of force in front of the embassy’s fortified compound in the Green Zone, burning guard posts on the perimeter. The assassination of Soleimani and Muhandis was part of the US’ response to that attack. Hamidawi added that the militia would also not work to overthrow Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s government on the anniversary because “there is still time.” “Our weapons are more controlled and organized than those of the finest armies and military institutions throughout history…and will remain in our hands until God wills otherwise,” he said on armed factions in Iraq refusing to turn in their arms.