The Conflict With Iran

General+Qasem+Soleimani+Cartoon+Caricature+Portrait+Vector+Illustration+Drawing

General Qasem Soleimani Cartoon Caricature Portrait Vector Illustration Drawing

World War III, to be, or not to be… 

According to NBC News, “After Iran shot down a U.S. drone in June, John Bolton, [President] Trump’s national security adviser at the time, urged Trump to retaliate by signing off on an operation to kill [Qasem] Soleimani, officials said. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also wanted Trump to authorize the assassination, officials said.

But Trump rejected the idea, saying he’d take that step only if Iran crossed his red line: killing an American. The President’s message was ‘that’s only on the table if they hit Americans,’ according to a person briefed on the discussion.”

On December 27, 2019 this “red line” was crossed. Qasem Soleimani ordered an attack at an Iraqi base in Kirkuk which killed an American contractor and Iraqi personnel. This attack pushed Trump to make the go ahead with the plan to assassinate Soleimani. Soleimani was officially assassinated on January 3, 2020. 

The Iranian government retaliated by launching missiles near American troops. It is generally agreed that Americans were intentionally avoided during this attack in hopes to avoid further escalation. 

Though there have been some intense moments throughout these past few weeks; for the moment things seem to be cooling off.    

Sources:

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/trump-authorized-soleimani-s-killing-7-months-ago-conditions-n1113271

https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/03/asia/soleimani-profile-intl-hnk/index.html