Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi vowed revenge against Donald Trump unless the former US president is tried over the killing of Qassem Soleimani, as Tehran marked two years since the revered commander's death. The Islamic republic and its allies across the Middle East held emotional commemorations for General Soleimani and his Iraqi lieutenant who were assassinated in a US drone strike at Baghdad airport on January 3, 2020. Tehran's arch enemies were targeted on the day of the anniversary in unclaimed drone and cyber attacks -- with two armed unmanned aerial vehicles intercepted by the US-led coalition in Iraq over Baghdad airport, and hackers attacking Israeli media sites. Soleimani headed the Quds Force, the foreign operations arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, with links to armed groups in Iraq, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, Syria and Yemen. Raisi, addressing Tehran's largest prayer hall, said: "The aggressor and the main assassin, the then president of the United States, must face justice and retribution" alongside former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo "and other criminals".

Two armed drones were shot down as they approached an Iraqi military base hosting US forces near Baghdad's international airport, Iraqi security sources said, adding that nobody was hurt in the incident. An official of the US-led international military coalition stationed there said the base's defence system engaged "two fixed-wing suicide drones… they were shot down without incident". "This was a dangerous attack on a civilian airport," the coalition official said in a brief statement on Monday. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. Footage provided by the coalition showed what the official said was debris of two fixed-wing drones destroyed in the attack, with writing clearly visible on the wing of one drone reading "Soleimani's revenge".