Iran has begun avenging the killing of General Qasem Soleimani by launching missiles targeting the US bases in Iraq. Pressure is also being mounted on the US by Iraq government to withdraw their presence from the Iraqi soil.

The assassination of Qasem Soleimani, commander of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Quds Force – the military entity’s overseas wing, takes the US-Iran dispute to another level. In addition to Iran, the Lebanese Hezbollah and Shia militia groups, and Sunni threat groups sponsored by Iran are likely to retaliate against Western, especially US, interests.

US President Trump authorized the strike based on intelligence that IRGC planned to conduct operations against US targets in the Middle East.

He was not only considered a threat by United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia, but by the Islamic State (IS). He deployed not only IRGC units to fight against IS but also armed, trained and financed tens of thousands of Shia militia against IS. He is also responsible for providing both Iraqi and Afghan threat groups with advanced bomb-making equipment and training that made the US presence untenable in Iraq and Afghanistan.

… The US considered assassinating General Suleimani earlier but President Obama presidency decided against it as it could lead to an escalation, including war. However, President Trump authorized the assassination of General Suleimani after American contractor was killed during a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base in Kirkuk by an Iranian-backed militia on 27 December 2019. A U.S. retaliatory attack killed about two-dozen members of an Iranian supported Kataeb Hezbollah.

In response, pro-Iranian demonstrators swarmed the fortified U.S. Embassy compound in the Iraqi capital. Ironically, Trump has repeatedly vowed that he wants to halt America’s “endless wars,” particularly in the Middle East. However, he may have done exactly the opposite.