The United States announced today that it has killed Qassem Soleimani, an Iranian Major-General. Soleimani was the head of the Quds Force and had been responsible for Iran’s military influence in the middle-eastern. He was killed in a targeted airstrike at the Baghdad airport.
Soleimani is among the most powerful men in the Middle East and according to experts, he is the second most powerful man in Iran. The retaliation from the US came after the pro-Iran militia attacked the American embassy in Iraq.
In a statement released by the Pentagon, it was stated that the strike was carried out in the direction of the United States President Donald Trump. The Pentagon said,
At the direction of the President, the U.S. military has taken decisive defensive action to protect U.S. personnel abroad by killing Qassem Soleimani.
The Iranian leadership has stated that such an assassination is going to lead to the strengthening of the anti-US movements in the region. Many experts have also stated that this move from the US could end up plunging the country into a long term conflict in Iran. The US revealed that Soleimani was killed to deter future attacks from Iran.