ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraq on Tuesday decided to rename the road leading to Baghdad International Airport after deceased paramilitary commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis as several provinces across the country announced a public holiday on the fourth anniversary of his death.

The Iraqi Council of Ministers announced that the road leading up to the Baghdad International Airport, the site of the 2020 killing of Muhandis and Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani, will be renamed to “Martyr Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis Street”.

The decision comes as Wednesday marks four years since an American airstrike, ordered directly by then President Donald Trump, killed Muhandis and Soleimani in front of the airport.

Several provinces on Tuesday announced a public holiday on January 3 in commemoration of Muhandis and Soleimani. Basra, Wasit, Muthanna, Babil, and Kirkuk provinces were among the first provinces to announce the public holiday.

Iraqi officials have repeatedly slammed the US for the January 3 incident, defining it as a breach of Iraqi sovereignty.

Tehran has continuously said that they would avenge the death of Soleimani, increasing the volume of their attacks, through Iraqi proxy militant groups, targeting US missions and troops in the country.

For three years, scores of Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) supporters have flocked the streets of Iraq on January 3, commemorating the death of Soleimani and Muhandis, carrying banners and shouting chants against the US.

This year’s anniversary is joined by another joint Iraqi-Iranian event as well.

Joint naval exercises between Iraqi and Iranian forces are set to commence this Wednesday in the strategic Persian Gulf (Arabian Gulf) waterway.

This year's anniversary comes at an increasingly sensitive time in the region. Iran-backed militant groups across the Middle East are launching simultaneous attacks on US troops and bases, with the pretext of targeting Israeli allies in the region in light of the Israeli war on Gaza.

Four years on, Iran’s will to avenge Soleimani has not faded, and with the recent killing of Iran’s most prominent commander in Syria, Reza Mousavi, who IRGC-linked media called a close aide to Qasem Soleimani, in an airstrike widely attributed to Israel.

In a meeting arranged to commemorate Soleimani on Monday, Iran’s legal deputy for the ministry of foreign affairs Reza Najafi emphasized that the US killing of Soleimani “should not remain without consequences.”