The arrest warrant was for a charge of premeditated murder, which carries the death penalty on conviction under the Iraqi Penal Code.,

Qassem Soleimani was Iranian major general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and, from 1998 until his death in 2020, commander of its Quds Force.

Al-Muhandis was the deputy leader of the state-sanctioned Popular Mobilization Forces that has been formed to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Soleimani and four members of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), including Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis were assassinated on 3 January 2020 by U.S. drone strike near Baghdad International Airport.