Soleimani was commander of theQuds Force, one of fivebranches of Iran'sIslamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which is designated as a terrorist organization by both the United States and European Parliament.[7][8] Soleimani was considered the second most powerful person in Iran, subordinate toSupreme LeaderAli Khamenei, even being considered Khamenei's right hand man.[9] Five Iraqi nationals and four other Iranian nationals were killed alongside Soleimani,[10] including the deputy chairman of Iraq'sPopular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and commander of the Iran-backedKata'ib Hezbollah militia,Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. The Pentagon says Soleimani and his troops were "responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members and the wounding of thousands more".[11] However, questions concerning theU.S. military command's level of attribution to the Quds Force for Iraq's domestic production ofexplosively formed penetrators, to the source of foreign production and "technology and the training on how to use it", and the level of transparency regarding this information at the time of accusation, were raised contemporaneously.[12][13]
The strike occurred during the 2019–2022 Persian Gulf crisis, which began after the U.S.withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran in 2018, reimposedsanctions, and accused Iranian elements of fomenting a campaign to harass U.S. forces in the region in 2019. On 27 December 2019, theK-1 Air Base in Iraq, which hosts Iraqi and U.S. personnel, wasattacked, killing an American contractor. The U.S. responded by launchingairstrikes across Iraq and Syria, reportedly killing 25 Kata'ib Hezbollah militiamen. Days later, Shia militiamen and their supporters retaliated byattacking the U.S. embassy in theGreen Zone.
U.S. officials justified the Soleimani strike saying it was necessary to stop an "imminent attack", though later clarifying the legal justification of the action as being taken "in response to an escalating series of attacks...to protect United States personnel, to deter Iran from conducting or supporting further attacks...and to end Iran's strategic escalation of attacks..."[14] Some experts, including the United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, considered the assassination as a likely violation ofinternational law as well as U.S. domestic laws. Iran called the strike an act of "state terrorism". The Iraqi government said the attack undermined its national sovereignty and considered it a breach of its bilateral security agreements with the U.S. and an act of aggression against its officials. On 5January 2020, theIraqi parliament passed a non-binding resolution to expel all foreign troops from its territory[15][16] while, on the same day, Iran took the fifth and last step of reducing commitments to the2015 international nuclear deal.
Soleimani's killing sharply escalated tensions between the U.S.[17] and Iran. Iranian leadersvowed revenge, while U.S. officials said they wouldpreemptively attack any Iran-backed paramilitary groups in Iraq that they perceived as a threat. Many in the international community reacted with concern and urged restraint and diplomacy. On 8 January 2020, five days after the airstrike, Iran launched a series ofmissile attacks on U.S. forces based in Iraq, the first known direct engagement between Iran and the U.S. since the naval battle precipitating theVincennes incident on 3 July 1988. That same day, the IRGC shot down a civilian airlinerUkraine International Airlines Flight 752. Following the shootdown, no additional military actions took place.[18]
The modernMiddle East has seen a number of occasions in which the assassination of high-level government and military figures was attempted, or at least considered. Such instances include United Statesdecapitation strike air raids targeting Libyan leaderMuammar Gaddafi in 1986 and Iraqi leaderSaddam Hussein in 1991, 1998, and 2003, in addition to killings or attempted killings of non-state terrorist leaders such asAnwar al-Awlaki andAbu Bakr al-Baghdadi.[19] Governments conducting assassinations of foreign leaders and officials was largely frowned upon in prior centuries, but that norm has been weakening over time, especially sinceWorld War II.[20] The effectiveness of anti-terrorist "leadership targeting" has become a subject of scholarly debate, especially with regard to whether such killings are actually beneficial to a country's foreign policy goals.[21]
In the wake of the strike against Soleimani, both the topic of further eroding norms and questions regarding effectiveness were raised.[22] The costs and benefits of foreign policy assassinations are difficult to compute, and decisions to go ahead with such actions often reflect the vague, and not always realized, hope that any successor to the targeted person will be less capable against, or will embody policies more favorable toward, the country taking the action.[19]
Concerning the 15-yearJoint Comprehensive Plan of Action provisional nuclear deal with Iran, some critics of the treaty argued that Iran could make anuclear bomb after expiry of the limited-term nuclear deal.[24] U.S. presidentDonald Trump criticized the nuclear deal, particularly theObama administration's debt clearance of $1.7 billion to Iran.[25][26][27] Tensions rose between Iran and the U.S. in 2018 after Trump unilaterallywithdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal and reimposedsanctions against Iran[28]—which severely affected Iran's economy[29]—as a part of his administration's strategy of applying "maximum pressure" against Iran for the purpose of establishing a new nuclear deal.[30][31][32]
TheQuds Force, which Qasem Soleimani led, has been designated a terrorist organization by Canada,[33] Saudi Arabia, Bahrain,[34] and the U.S.[35][36] Soleimani himself was sanctioned by the United Nations[37] and theEuropean Union[38][39][40] and was on U.S. terror watchlists.[41]
Ever since theIran–Iraq War (1980–88), in which Iran was attacked bySaddam Hussein's Iraq with significant assistance of several Western countries siding with Hussein against AyatollahRuhollah Khomeini'sIslamic republic in Tehran,[50] with notably the U.S. supplying weapons and intelligence to Iraq,[51] Soleimani had developed into the architect of all of Iran's foreign policies in the Middle East[48][49][52] and a key figure in all of Iran's foreign and defence policies.[48] He provided crucial support to PresidentBashar al-Assad's regime during theSyrian Civil War.[53] In his 2008 letter to the U.S. generalDavid Petraeus, thencommander of theMulti-National Force in Iraq, he asserted: "General Petraeus, you must know that I, Qasem Soleimani, am in charge of the Iranian policies concerning Iraq,Lebanon,Gaza andAfghanistan".[49]Iran's alleged ties to theTaliban were cited as part of the justification for the assassination of Soleimani.[54] That made his killing by the U.S. on 3 January 2020 a significant aggravation[50] of theexisting tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
In the days after the assassination of Soleimani, Iran's leaders vowed "shattering revenge"[48] "on places and at times where the U.S. don't expect it".[55]
Responses to Qasem Soleimani's perceived influence in Iraq and abroad had been a topic of debate amongst U.S. officials for many years. In August 2007, as U.S. military officials attempted to learn more about the leadership of the Iran-backed proxy groups operating in Iraq, they received a message relayed through the Iraqi Minister of State for National Security, that Soleimani wanted them to know that he was "the sole decision-maker on Iranian activities in Iraq".[56]
According to a report by NBC News,Eric Edelman, a career foreign services officer with senior diplomatic posts at the time, U.S. commander Army GeneralGeorge Casey, considered designating Soleimani andQuds Force officers enemy combatants, thus making them subject to military action. However, the idea was ruled out over concerns of opening a "new front" in the war. Edelman stated, "There were a lot of us who thought he should be taken out. But at the end of the day, they decided not to do that," due to concern of starting simultaneous conflict with Iran.[57]
Former U.S. presidentsGeorge W. Bush andBarack Obama both considered and rejected targeting Qasem Soleimani, reasoning that it would escalate to a full-scale war. Retired CIA officer Marc Polymeropoulos toldThe New York Times that Soleimani, unlike other adversaries killed by the U.S., felt comfortable operating in the open and was not hard to find. He often took photographs of himself and openly taunted U.S. forces.[58]
In October 2007, the Bush administration was the first to designate Soleimani a terrorist on the basis of his involvement with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and Quds Force, and the increasing recognition of the role they played in the Iraq conflict.[59] According to an interview with aPolitiFact journalist, retired U.S. Army Colonel Frank Sobchak, said that around the same time U.S. special forces had planned for his capture, but the mission was not approved by senior officials. He said, "Individuals that we talked to in senior positions of the U.S. government told us that with support for the war at an all-time low in 2007, the Bush administration recognized the importance of Soleimani to the war, but was not willing to risk the political capital and repercussions that could occur from expanding the war to that level."[60]
These activities preceded escalating concern and terror designations of Soleimani by theObama administration. The first such designation was made in May 2011, in response to Soleimani's assistance to theSyrian General Intelligence Directorate in the violent suppression of Syrian protestors.[61] The second, and more serious designation by theObama administration came in October 2011, after a plot was revealed in which four senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF) officers were planning to assassinate the Saudi Arabian Ambassador while in the United States, under the supervision of Soleimani.[62]
In September 2015, radio hostHugh Hewitt asked Donald Trump about Soleimani. After initially confusing him with aKurdish leader, Trump argued that leaders like Soleimani would be dead under his administration.[63]
It was reported in 2015 thatIsrael was "on the verge" of assassinating Soleimani on Syrian soil; however, the U.S., during the Obama administration's negotiations for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, thwarted the operation by revealing it to the Iranian officials.[64]
On 25 August 2019,Israeli Foreign MinisterIsrael Katz said, "Israel is acting to strike the head of the Iranian snake and uproot its teeth... Iran is the head of the snake and Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards Quds Force, is the snake's teeth."[65] In October 2019,Hossein Taeb, chief of theIntelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, told the press that his agency had arrested an unspecified number of people, allegedly foiling a plot by Israeli and Arab agencies to assassinate Soleimani. He said they had planned to "buy a property adjacent to the grave of Soleimani's father and rig it with explosives to kill the commander".[66] He added the way of the assassination would have appeared as part of an internal Iranian power struggle to "trigger a religious war inside Iran".[67]Yossi Cohen, chief of the Israeli foreign intelligence agency (Mossad), said in response, "Soleimani knows that his assassination is not impossible."[68]
On 2 January 2020,The New York Times authorSteven Simon wrote in a comment: "What if the former commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Qassim Suleimani, visits Baghdad for a meeting and you know the address? The temptations to usehypersonic missiles will be many."[69]
In early October 2019, according to two Iraqi militia commanders and two security sources who spoke withReuters staff, IranianMajor-General Qasem Soleimani met in Baghdad to discuss a change in strategy with Iraqi Shiite militia allies.[70] The new focus of strategy was to be an increase in targeted rocket attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq, with the intended effect of provoking an antagonistic U.S. military response that would divert political pressure from Iran. Leading up to the meeting, there had been increasing anti-Iran sentiment amongst the local Iraqi population, culminating in prolonged and vocal anti-Iran protests, with some demonstrators banging their shoes on raised portraits ofAyatollah Ali Khamenei.[71][72] At least 400 protestors were killed and an estimated 20,000 wounded.[73][70][71][74][72] Soleimani decided to step up attacks on U.S. forces. He choseKata'ib Hezbollah because the group "would be difficult to detect by the Americans" and could use Iran-provided scout drones for more precision in target selection for the rocket attacks. The US was becoming increasingly concerned at Iran's influence within the Iraqi government.[70]
On 27 December 2019, the K-1 Air Base inKirkuk Province, Iraq—one of many Iraqi military bases that host Operation Inherent Resolve coalition personnel—wasattacked by more than 30 rockets, killing anIraqi-American U.S. defense contractor,[75] and injuring multiple U.S. andIraqi service members.[76] The U.S. blamed the Iranian-backed Kata'ib Hezbollah militia for the attack.[77] Furthermore, a senior U.S. official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity, said there had been a campaign of 11 attacks on Iraqi bases hosting OIR personnel in the two months before the 27 December incident, many of which the U.S. also attributed to Kata'ib Hezbollah.[78][79] On 29 December 2019, retaliatory U.S. airstrikes targeted five Kata'ib Hezbollah weapon storage facilities andcommand and control locations in Iraq and Syria.[80][81] 25 militia members died[82] and 55 were wounded.[83]
On 31 December 2019, after a funeral was held for the Kata'ib Hezbollah militiamen, dozens of IraqiShia militiamen and their supporters marched into the Green Zone and surrounded the U.S. embassy compound.[84] Dozens of the demonstrators then smashed through a main door of the checkpoint, set fire to the reception area, raisedPopular Mobilization Units militia flags, leftanti-American posters, and sprayed anti-Americangraffiti.[85][86][87] U.S. president Donald Trump accused Iran of orchestrating the attack on the embassy and added that they would be held "fully responsible".[88] Iran's foreign ministry denied they were behind the protests.[89][90][91]
The Pentagon evaluated Soleimani as the leader of Tehran's attacks onU.S. bases in Iraq, including the 2019 K-1 Air Base attack and killing of a U.S. civilian, and theshooting down of a U.S. aerial vehicle. Regarding the decision to kill Soleimani, the U.S. focused on both his past actions and a deterrent to his future action as the Pentagon announced that "he was actively developing plans to attackU.S. diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region."[92][93][94][95]
According to an unidentified senior U.S. official, sometime after the bombing of Kata'ib Hezbollah in late December 2019, a security briefing was convened at President Trump'sMar-a-Lago estate where he and his advisors, including Secretary of StateMike Pompeo, Defense SecretaryMark Esper, and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff GeneralMark Milley discussed how to respond to Iran's alleged role in sponsoring anti-U.S. attacks in Iraq. Reportedly, thetargeted killing of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, whom U.S. officials regarded as a facilitator of attacks on U.S. personnel in Iraq, was listed as the "most extreme option"[96] of many options on a briefing slide,[97] reflecting an alleged practice among Pentagon officials whereby a very extreme option is presented to presidents so as to make other options appear more palatable.[98][96] Trump chose the option to kill Soleimani, prompting the CIA and other U.S. intelligence agencies that had tracked Soleimani's whereabouts for years to locate him on a flight fromDamascus to Baghdad, reportedly to hold meetings with Iraqi militiamen. The air strike would have been called off if Soleimani had been on his way to meet with Iraqi government officials aligned with the U.S.[99]
Trump did not notify the top congressional leaders of theGang of Eight in advance of the strike. SenatorLindsey Graham indicated Trump had discussed the matter with him in advance of the strike, as he was visiting the president at his Mar-a-Lago estate.[100][101] According to journalistBob Woodward, four days before the strike, Graham tried to change Trump's mind as they discussed the decision while playing golf.[102]
According to unidentified sources cited byThe New York Times, Trump initially rejected the option to target Soleimani on 28 December 2019, but made the decision after being angered by television news reports of the U.S. embassy in Baghdad being attacked by armed Iranian-backed militiamen, namelyKata'ib Hezbollah and thePopular Mobilization Forces, on 31 December.[96] This followed a 27 December rocket attack by Kata'ib Hezbollah on an airbase inKirkuk that killed an American civilian contractor and injured four U.S. service members and twoIraqi security forces personnel. By late 2January, Trump had finalized his decision of the most extreme option his advisors had provided him, which reportedly "stunned" top Pentagon officials.The New York Times report cited unidentified U.S. officials as saying the intelligence regarding Soleimani's alleged plot against the U.S. was "thin" and that the Ayatollah had not approved any operation for Soleimani to carry out. However, General Milley said the intelligence was "clear and unambiguous" with a time frame of "days, weeks".[103] U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Vice PresidentMike Pence were reportedly the most hawkish voices arguing to retaliate against Iran.[99] Pence later wrote that Soleimani was plotting "imminent" attacks on U.S. persons, but provided no evidence of this.[104][105][106] U.S. National Security AdvisorRobert O'Brien insisted that Soleimani "was plotting to kill, to attack American facilities, and diplomats, soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines were located at those facilities".[107]
In contrast to theTimes' reporting, according to unidentified sources cited byThe Washington Post on 4 January 2020, Trump wanted to kill Soleimani[a] to avoid the appearance of weakness amid the ongoing Persian Gulf crisis, since his decision to call off an airstrike against Iran in summer 2019 after the downing of a U.S. drone had led to what he perceived as negative media coverage. Lawmakers and aides who had spoken to him told thePost that the president also had the2012 Benghazi attack in Libya on his mind.[98] Furthermore, Mike Pompeo[b] had discussed killing Soleimani with Trump months before the strike, but did not garner support from the president or the defense team then in place.[111] However, according toThe Wall Street Journal on 10 January 2020, Trump purportedly told associates after the strike that he was motivated to strike Soleimani for domestic political gain, particularly to swayRepublican senators to support him in his upcoming Senateimpeachment trial.[112]
On the day of the strike, Pompeo asserted the attack was ordered by Trump to disrupt an "imminent attack" by Soleimani operatives, although subsequent reports on that rationale were mixed.[113][114][99][115] On 9January, Trump said "We did it because they were looking to blow up our embassy. We also did it for other reasons that were very obvious. Somebody died, one of our military people died. People were badly wounded just a week before."[116] On 10 January, Trump claimed that Soleimani had been planning attacks on four U.S. embassies in the Middle East.[117] Afterwards several members of Congress, includingMike Lee andChris Murphy, claimed that the Trump administration had not informed them of this in the intelligence briefing on the strike.[118] Three days after Trump's remarks, Defense SecretaryMark Esper clarified that, although "there was evidence" of a plot against the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, the president "didn't cite intelligence" about the other three embassies he mentioned, and that the president instead shared his belief that there "probably could have been" a plot against those embassies.[119][120][121]
On 18 January,CNN reported that President Trump claimed that Soleimani was "saying bad things about our country", then he asked "How much of this shit do we have to listen to?... How much are we going to listen to?"[122]
Adil Abdul-Mahdi, the prime minister of Iraq, said he was scheduled on the day of the attack to meet Soleimani, who was delivering Iran's response to a previous message from Saudi Arabia that Iraq had relayed.[123] According to Abdul-Mahdi, Trump had called him to request that Abdul-Mahdi mediate the conflict between the U.S. and Iran before the drone strike.[124][125]
As news of the event broke, the U.S. Department of Defense issued a statement which said that the strike was carried out "at the direction of the president" and was meant to deter future attacks. Trump asserted that Soleimani had been planning further attacks on American diplomats and military personnel and had approved the attack on the American embassy in Baghdad.[93][144][145]
According to Saudi-basedArab News, the drone that struck Soleimani's convoy had been launched fromAl Udeid Air Base inQatar, and was controlled remotely by operators at theCreech Air Force Base.[146] A statement by the Air Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) stated thatAli Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait participated, among other bases in the region, in the operation that was executed near Baghdad airport recently. Kuwait summoned the Iranian ambassador to Kuwait over the statement and expressed Kuwait's resentment and categorical denial at such statement.[147]
As DNA results were still pending regarding the identification of those killed, a senior Pentagon official said there was "high probability" that Soleimani would be identified.[148] Soleimani's body was identified by a ring that he was known to wear.[149][f]Ahmed Al Asadi, a spokesman for the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), confirmed the deaths of Soleimani and Muhandis.[141] According to AyatollahAli Sistani's office, the casualties included "several commanders who defeatedIslamic State terrorists".[151]
The IRGC said a total of ten people were killed. Along with Soleimani, four other IRGC officers were also killed: Brigadier General Hossein Pourjafari, Colonel Shahroud Mozafarinia, Major Hadi Taremi and Captain Vahid Zamanian.[citation needed] The remaining five casualties were Iraqi members of the PMF: deputy chairmanAbu Mahdi al-Muhandis, chief of protocol and public relations Muhammed Reza al-Jaberi,[152] Mohammad al-Shibani, Hassan Abdul Hadi and Heydar Ali.[153]
On the same day of the Baghdad airport strike, an IRGC financier and key commander,Abdulreza Shahlai,[g] was unsuccessfully targeted by U.S. drones in Yemen,[155] which killed Mohammad Mirza, a Quds Force operative, instead.[156] Shahlai was also responsible for the killing of five American soldiers inKarbala, Iraq on 20 January 2007.[157]According to aWashington Post investigation, the unsuccessful operation might indicate a broader operation than previously explained, raising questions about whether the mission was designed to cripple the leadership of the IRGC or solely to prevent an imminent attack on Americans as originally stated.[158]
Soleimani and al-Muhandis' deaths raised tensions between the U.S. and Iran. As stated byFrance 24, the targeted killing of Qasem Soleimani "caused alarm around the world, amid fears that Iranian retaliation against American interests in the region could spiral into a far larger conflict".[159]
Shortly after the attack, several planes with U.S. service members took off from bases in theeastern United States.[160] The following day, the U.S. Department of Defense announced the deployment of 3,500 members of the82nd Airborne Division to the region, one of the largest rapid deployments in decades.[161] Defense officials said the deployment was not directly related to the airstrike which killed Soleimani, but was instead a "precautionary action in response to increased threat levels against U.S. personnel and facilities".[162]
According to some media reports, a Royal Navy nuclear-powered submarine armed withTomahawk missiles was allegedly ready to strike Iran if tensions escalated in the Middle East.[164][165]
The day after the Baghdad airport attack, Iraqi state news reported that there had been another airstrike on a convoy of medical units of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces nearCamp Taji inTaji, north of Baghdad. An Iraqi Army source told Reuters the attack killed six people and critically wounded three.[166] The PMF later said there was no senior commander in the convoy, and theImam Ali Brigades denied reports of the death of its leader.[167] The PMF also denied that any medical convoy was targeted at Taji.[168] There was no information about who conducted the attack. Spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve Colonel Myles B. Caggins III said the coalition did not do it, while Iraq's Joint Operations Command denied reports of any such attack occurring, saying it was simply a false rumor that spread quickly due to the prior airport strike.[169]
Demonstrations in Iran over the death of Soleimani, January 2020
A spokesman for the Iranian government said the country's top security body would hold an extraordinary meeting shortly to discuss the "criminal act of attack".[170] Iran's Supreme LeaderAli Khamenei warned that "retaliation is waiting".[171] On 4January, theU.S. Department of Homeland Security said there was "no specific, credible" threat to the U.S. mainland but warned about Iranian capabilities.[172] Trump warned Tehran that any retaliation would result in the U.S. targeting 52 Iranian significant sites, including cultural sites.[173] The 52 sites were reported to represent the 52 American hostages held during theIran hostage crisis.[174][175]Hossein Dehghan, the main military adviser of Iran, and Iranian Foreign MinisterJavad Zarif asserted that attacks on Iranian cultural sites would be grave breaches of international law. U.S. secretary of stateMike Pompeo avoided a direct answer when asked about cultural targets, saying that Washington will do the things that are right and the things that are consistent with U.S. law.[176] U.S. secretary of defense Mark Esper later asserted that cultural sites would not be targeted because "That's the laws of armed conflict."[177]
On 5 January 2020, theIslamic Consultative Assembly of Iran chanted "America, thegreatest Satan", during its session.[178] That day, Iran announced that it would suspend all its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal[179] except that it would continue to cooperate with the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, theInternational Atomic Energy Agency. The statement added, "If the sanctions are lifted... the Islamic Republic is ready to return to its obligations."[180][181]
In a speech[182] broadcast on 8 January on Iranian televisionIRINN TV, Iranian President Rouhani stated that Iran would no longer stick to the 2015 nuclear agreement restrictions on uranium enrichment: "Iran's nuclear industry will prosper," he said. Secondly, Rouhani mentioned in his speech that "They cut off the hand of our dear Soleimani" and as revenge they, the Iranians, would cut off the legs of the Americans and toss them out of neighboring countries.
Footage of Soleimani's funeral procession inTehran
The remains of Soleimani and the Iranian figures killed in the strike arrived in Iran on 5January, where they became part of mourning processions in several cities, first inAhvaz[183] and later inMashhad, where one million people attended the mourning. It was initially reported that Iran canceled the mourning procession planned in Tehran because the city would not be able to handle the number of attendees expected after the turnout in Mashhad;[184] however, the Tehran service was held, at which Ayatollah Ali Khamenei publicly wept while leading prayers for the funeral. Iranian state media said the crowd of mourners numbered in the "millions", reportedly the biggest since the 1989 funeral of the founder of the Islamic Republic, AyatollahRuhollah Khomeini.[185] Iranian authorities planned to take Soleimani's body toQom on 6January for public mourning processions,[citation needed] then onto his hometown ofKerman for final burial on 7January.[186] Before the national procession was completed, multiple infrastructure works, such as theinternational airport at Ahvaz andan expressway in Tehran, had already been renamed after him.[187][188] The funeral was boycotted by critics of the current government by using the hashtag #IraniansDetestSoleimani for the IRGC's war crimes.[189][190] The hashtag was amplified by "inauthentic" accounts almost immediately after creation.[191][192]
On 7 January 2020, at least 56 people were killed and 213 injured in a stampede during Soleimani's burial at Kerman. As a result, the burial was postponed to a later time.[193][194]
Shortly after the confirmation of Soleimani's death, U.S. spy agencies reportedly detected that Iran'sballistic missile regiments were at a heightened readiness but it was unclear at the time if they were defensive, cautionary measures or an indication of a future attack on U.S. forces.[195]
On 8 January 2020, Iranian forces launched ballistic missiles at theAl Asad Airbase and an airbase nearErbil, both in Iraq, where American personnel were located.[196][197] The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps declared that the strikes were part of their retaliation for the killing of Soleimani.[198] No Iraqi or American casualties were initially reported.[199]
According to theIranian Students News Agency (ISNA), the country's state-run news outlet, Iran fired "tens of ground-to-ground missiles" at the base and claimed responsibility for the attacks.[200] The attacks unfolded in two waves, about an hour apart.[201] The Pentagon said these bases were on high alert after signs of the Iranian government were planning attacks on U.S. forces.[202] Although the Pentagon disputes the number launched, it has confirmed that both the Ayn al-Asad and the Erbil airbases were hit by Iranian missiles.[203][204] A military spokesman forU.S. Central Command said a total of 15 missiles were fired. Ten hit the Ayn al-Asad airbase, one hit the Erbil base, and four missiles failed.[201] Other sources confirmed that two ballistic missiles targeted Erbil: one hitErbil International Airport and did not explode, the other landed about 20 miles (32 km) west of Erbil.[205] On 8JanuarySaudi Arabia's Deputy Defense MinisterPrince Khalid bin Salman said the Kingdom would stand with Iraq and do everything in its power to spare it from the "danger of war and conflict between external parties".[206] The same day aUkrainian passenger jet was shot down by the Iranian military over Tehran after presumably being mistaken for an enemy cruise missile. All 176 people on board were killed, including 82 Iranians and others with dual citizenship.[207][208]
Following a series of conflicting and confusing reports, the Pentagon confirmed that several dozen servicemen had been injured to varying degrees of severity, by the Iranian missile strikes.[209]
Impact of the attack, and Iranian retaliation, onBrent crude oil prices (bottom right, green)
Global oil prices rose moderately in reaction to Soleimani's death to heights not seen for three months,[210] before falling back down.[211][212] Following Iran's zero-fatality missile attack, prices were lower than before the airstrike that killed al-Muhandis.[213]
On 2 January 2022, the second anniversary of Soleimani's assassination,The Jerusalem Post's website was hacked, displaying an illustration threatening Israel'sShimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center. The image featured a ballistic missile shooting out of a red ring worn on a finger, an apparent reference to the notable ring worn by Soleimani. The Twitter accounts of the Jerusalem Post andMaariv were also targeted. It was unclear if the hack was state sponsored or was conducted by pro-Iranian sympathizers.[214]
On 3 January 2024, at an event commemorating his death four years after it happened, abomb exploded in the Iranian city ofKerman killing 103 people.[215] Iranian State Media blames "terrorists" as the perpetrators of the bombing, although they have not provided specifications as to who. Iranian presidentEbrahim Raisi condemned the attacks and vowed to bring those responsible for the "heinous act" to justice.[216]
In the wake of the Baghdad strike, theU.S. embassy in Baghdad urged Americans to leave Iraq immediately "via airline while possible, and failing that, to other countries via land".[217] The next day, Britain warned its nationals to avoid all travel to Iraq outside theKurdistan region, and to avoid all but essential travel to Iran.[218]Australia issued a similar warning advising its nationals to "leave Iraq as soon as possible".[219]
On 4 January, the funeral procession for Soleimani, al-Muhandis, and the other Iraqis and Iranians was held in Baghdad and attended by thousands of mourners who chanted "death to America,death to Israel". Iraqi Prime MinisterAdil Abdul-Mahdi was also present.[220] The cortege began aroundAl-Kadhimiya Mosque, a Shiite holy site in Baghdad, before heading to the Green Zone government and diplomatic compound where a state funeral was held. From Baghdad, the procession moved to the Shia holy city ofKarbala and on toNajaf, where al-Muhandis and the other Iraqis were buried, while the coffins of Soleimani and the Iranian nationals were sent to Iran.[221][222] Following the mourning procession in Baghdad,[223] unknown people fired short-range rockets towards the U.S. embassy and at the U.S.Balad Air Base.[224] The U.S. Central Command, which oversees operations in the Middle East, said no Americans were harmed by the sporadic rocket attacks on 4January.[99]
On 6January,Chevron evacuated all its American oil workers fromIraqi Kurdistan as a "precautionary measure".[225]
170 Iraqi lawmakers signed a draft law requiring the government to request the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.[226]Rudaw Media Network (Kurdish) described the 170 Iraqi lawmakers that signed the law asShiite[226] and that "Iraqi parliament's resolution to expel foreign troops has no legal consequences."[227]Al Jazeera reported the resolution read "The government commits to revoke its request for assistance from the international coalition fighting Islamic State due to the end ofmilitary operations in Iraq and the achievement of victory" and "The Iraqi government must work to end the presence of any foreign troops on Iraqi soil and prohibit them from using its land, airspace or water for any reason."[228] The resolution was approved in the Iraqi parliament.[229] In response to the vote, Trump threatened Iraq with sanctions that would "make Iranian sanctions look somewhat tame" and demanded reimbursement for American investments on military facilities in Iraq.[230]
On 6 January 2020, the Pentagon released a letter from Marine Brigadier GeneralWilliam Seely to Abdul Amir, the Iraqi deputy director of Combined Joint Operations Baghdad, informing him that "as requested by the Iraqi Parliament and the Prime Minister,CJTF–OIR will be repositioning forces over the course of the coming days and weeks to prepare for onward movement."[231] Shortly afterward,Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of StaffMark Milley said, "That letter is a draft. It was a mistake, it was unsigned, it should not have been released... [it was] poorly worded, implies withdrawal, that is not what's happening."[232]
In mid February, the Iraqi government confirmed toNATO, that they could restart its training missions, which have been paused since the attack. Troops fromCJTF–OIR are expected to be moved and work under the NATO banner instead.[238][239]
Thesustained massive street protests in Iraq that led to Abdul-Mahdi's resignation as prime minister (and temporary caretaker role) restarted in the days after the assassination of Soleimani and al-Muhandis, with a shift in the focus of protests from mostly anti-Iran to criticism of both the U.S. and Iran.[240][241][242] The "Made in Iraq" street and online protests strengthened in Baghdad following the assassination.[243] Major protests took place on 5January 2020 in many cities,[240][241] "Made in Iraq" protests on 7January,[243] and two thousand protested inBasra andNassiriyah on 10 January, with one of the slogans being "Neither America nor Iran, our revolution is a young revolution."[242]
On 24 January, several hundred thousand Iraqis protested against U.S. military presence in Iraq and called for them to leave the country after Shia clericMuqtada al-Sadr called for a "Million Man March." Iraqi PresidentBarham Salih tweeted, "Iraqis insist on a state with complete sovereignty that will not be breached."[244]
On 31 December 2021, hundreds of Iraqis rallied ahead of the second anniversary of the US assassination of Qassem Soleimani, burning a model of the US embassy in Iraq. Demonstrators gathered outsideBaghdad’s Green Zone – which includes the sprawling US Embassy compound calling for the expulsion of American forces still in Iraq.[245]
On 3 January 2021, the one year anniversary of the killings of Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, thousands of Iraqis demandedAmerican forces pull out of the country in protests inLiberation Square, Baghdad. The anniversary of their deaths inBaghdad was also marked in Iran and by supporters inSyria,Lebanon,Yemen and elsewhere in theMiddle East.[246]
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The airstrike's legal justification became a subject of debate.[247][248][249][250] In 2022, Iranian PresidentEbrahim Raisi declared that unless Trump and Pompeo are brought to trial in an IranianIslamic Court, revenge will be sought.[251]
In January 2020, after the U.S. killed Soleimani,US Ambassador to the United NationsKelly Craft wrote a letter to theUN Security Council in which she said that the act was one ofself-defense.[252] At the same time, she wrote in the letter that the US stood "ready to engage without preconditions in serious negotiations with Iran, with the goal of preventing further endangerment of international peace and security or escalation by the Iranian regime."[252]
TheCharter of the United Nations generally prohibits theuse of force against other states, if a country does not consent to it on its territory.[253] TheGovernment of Iraq did not grant permission to the U.S. to target a military commander from another country on its soil.[250][253] Some legal experts believe a lack of consent from Iraq makes it difficult for the U.S. to justify the attack.[253]
Agnès Callamard, theUnited Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, issued an opinion that the airstrike "most likely violate[d]international law incl[uding]human rights law", adding that killing of other individuals alongside Soleimani was "absolutely unlawful".[247][254] On 6 July 2020, Callamard said that the attack was the first known incident in which a nation invoked self-defence as a justification for an attack against a state actor in the territory of a third country and that the United States has failed to provide sufficient evidence of an ongoing or imminent attack against its interests in order to justify the strike. In a report to be presented to the UN human rights council, Callamard wrote "the course of action taken by the US was unlawful" and was a violation of the UN charter.[255]
U.S. officials denied the claim. On 8 July 2020, responding, the U.S. State Department said "This tendentious and tedious report undermines human rights by giving a pass to terrorists and it proves once again why America was right to leave the council."[256] UK Defence SecretaryBen Wallace said: "the intelligence information I have seen, under the right to defend yourself against an imminent threat, that would have been met."[257]
A spokesman forBoris Johnson, prime minister of the United Kingdom, said, "States have a right to take action such as this in self-defence."[259] Johnson later said "...the strict issue of legality is not for the UK to determine since it was not our operation", in response toLeader of the OppositionJeremy Corbyn who called it an "illegal act" and asked for the government to condemn it.[260]
NBC News correspondents reported that according to five current and former Trump administration officials, Trump had authorized the killing of Soleimani back in June 2019 on the condition that "Iran's aggression resulted in the death of an American." According to the correspondents, given the overall timeline of events, this report may call into question for some the Trump administration's citied reason of "imminent threats" as a cause of the killing.[57]
Iran said it will pursue awar-crimes case against U.S. president Donald Trump at theInternational Criminal Court in the Hague.[261] On 29 June 2020, Iran issued an arrest warrant against U.S. President Donald Trump and askedInterpol for help: Tehran prosecutor Ali Alqasimehr accused Trump and 30 others of "murder and terrorism charges" for the killing of Qasem Soleimani. The request was rejected, however, as Interpol constitution forbids it to undertake "any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character".[262] On 5 January 2021, Iran asked for anotherInterpol notice against Trump and 47 others for their roles in the killing;[263] it was rejected on the same grounds.[264]
On 7 January 2021, Iraq's judiciary issued an arrest warrant against Trump, accusing him of "premediated murder", due to his role in the deaths of Qasem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.[265]
PMF is legally incorporated into the Iraqi security forces by a series of laws enacted by the parliament and Prime Ministerial orders, therefore, technically, the U.S. killed a senior Iraqi official (Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis) and other military personnel of Iraq.[266][267]
A mutual agreement signed in 2008 prohibits the U.S. from launching attacks on other countries from Iraqi territory.[253] Iraqi Prime MinisterAdil Abdul-Mahdi said the attack was a "breach of the conditions for the presence of U.S. forces in Iraq".[268] He also said "The assassination of an Iraqi military commander who holds an official position is consideredaggression on Iraq... and the liquidation of leading Iraqi figures or those from a brotherly country on Iraqi soil is a massive breach of sovereignty."[248] He andSpeaker of the Council of RepresentativesMohamed al-Halbousi released separate written statements, both calling the attack a breach of Iraq'ssovereignty.[269][270]According to the office of the Iraqi caretaker prime minister, the U.S. secretary of state has subsequently been requested to send a delegation to Iraq tasked with formulating the mechanism for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.[271]
Executive Order 11905, signed in 1976, to preventassassination attempts on Fidel Castro, states that "no person employed by or acting on behalf of the United States Government shall engage in, or conspire to engage in, political assassination."[81] According to Vicki Divoll, a former attorney for the Central Intelligence Agency who served as general counsel of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, as president, Trump was not legally bound to follow the Executive Orders of prior administrations banning political assassinations, the targeted killing of Solemani was a breach of domestic criminal law.[276] Divoll argued that amendments toTitle 18 of the United States Code, specifically Article 51, § 1116, passed by Congress in the 1970s in response to the Munich Olympic Massacre, stating in part: "whoever kills or attempts to kill a foreign official, official guest, or internationally protected person shall be punished as provided under sections 1111, 1112, and 1113 of this title", applied to the airstrike and rendered Trump's actions an unambiguous act of murder under the federal criminal code.[276]
The Trump administration said it was authorized under both theConstitution and the2002 Authorization of Use of Military Force Against Iraq. The Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign AffairsEliot Engel said "The 2002 authorization was passed to deal with Saddam Hussein. This law had nothing to do with Iran or Iranian government officials in Iraq. To suggest that 18 years later this authorization could justify killing an Iranian official stretches the law far beyond anything Congress ever intended."[277]
This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(May 2020)
Some members of Congress, which generally was not consulted or briefed before the Soleimani strike, sought to restrict the president's ability to conduct future military operations against Iran without congressional consent. On 6January 2020, House Speaker Pelosi announced plans to hold a vote within the week on limiting President Trump'swar powers concerning Iran.[278] On 8January 2020, Pelosi announced that a vote will be held by the entire House on 9January to limit President Trump's war powers concerning any future escalation of conflict with Iran.[279][280][281] TheHouse Rules Committee cleared the way for a full House vote by approving parameters which set up a two-hour debate on 9January.[282] The House vote is considered significant, as theU.S. Constitution provides that while the president may use the military to defend the country, anydeclaration of war must be approved by Congress (note that Congress has never declared war on anyonesince World War II).[283] Trump criticized the effort, arguing that congressional approval should not be needed to militarily engage Iran "because you have to be able to make split-second decisions sometimes".[284] The resolution was later defeated by presidential veto after clearing the senate.[285]
U.S. president Donald Trump delivers prepared remarks on the airstrikes,Mar-a-Lago, 3January 2020.NATO Secretary GeneralJens Stoltenberg remarks.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei vowed to take "harsh revenge" against the United States[286][287] and declared threedays of mourning.[288] PresidentHassan Rouhani also said Iran "will take revenge."[289] Foreign MinisterMohammad Javad Zarif called the attack "an extremely dangerous and foolish escalation."[290] Iran sent a letter to the United Nations, calling it "[s]tate terrorism" and said it violated principles of international law.[291] On 7January,Iran's parliament approved a €200 million increase in the Quds Force's budget, to be used in two months.[292] Reuters reported that some Iranians, including Soleimani supporters, fear that a war could break out at a time of economic hardship and widespread corruption. Some older Iranians recalled memories of theIran–Iraq War.[293]
In Iraq, outgoing Prime MinisterAdil Abdul-Mahdi condemned the attack, calling it an assassination, an act of aggression and a breach of Iraqi sovereignty that could lead to war in Iraq. Subsequently, he declared three days of national mourning.[294] Abdul-Mahdi also said the strike violated theagreement on the presence of U.S. forces in Iraq and legislation should provide safeguards for Iraq's security and sovereignty.[295] The speaker of Iraq's parliament, Mohammed al Halbousi, vowed to "put an end to U.S. presence" in Iraq.[296] The Iraqi parliament voted to ask the U.S. to withdraw their forces from Iraq.Muqtada al-Sadr, leader of theSadrist Movement and theSaraya al-Salam militia, ordered his followers to "prepare to defend Iraq."[297] Despite the government opposing the airstrike, many Iraqis who are against the PMF celebrated the killing of Soleimani.[298][299][300]
On 4January, Trump tweeted that 52 Iranian targets (representing the 52 American hostages in the1979–81 Iran hostage crisis) had been selected if Iran "strikes any Americans, or American assets."[301][302] Iranian President Rouhani responded to Trump's warning, saying "(t)hose who refer to the number 52 should also remember the number 290," referring to the death of 290 people in 1988 when a U.S. warship shot downIran Air Flight 655.[303] Among those targets were Iranian "cultural sites",[304] and Trump subsequently insisted he would not hesitate to destroy such targets even after some said it could be considered a war crime.[305]
After the assassination, terrorist groups such asISIS celebrated and said that it "benefitted them."[306][307]
U.S. Senate Majority LeaderMitch McConnell voiced support for the airstrike, referring to Soleimani as "Iran's master terrorist."[308]House SpeakerNancy Pelosi referred to the attacks as "provocative and disproportionate." She introduced a "war powers resolution" to require Trump's administration to end any hostilities with Iran within 30 days if not approved by Congress.[309] "The present authorizations for use of military force in no way cover starting a possible new war," SenatorRichard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said. "This step could bring the most consequential military confrontation in decades."[53] The Democratic candidates for the2020 U.S. presidential election largely condemned the airstrike,[310] with SenatorElizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) describing it as a "wag-the-dog" incident.[311]
American foreign policy criticNoam Chomsky called the assassination "an extraordinarily dangerous act," saying it was "as if Iran had decided to murder Mike Pompeo and a major general along with him at the Mexico City International Airport."[312]
United NationsSecretary-GeneralAntónio Guterres expressed concern over the escalation and called for leaders to "exercise maximum restraint."[313]NATOSecretary GeneralJens Stoltenberg said, following a meeting on 6January, "(w)e are united in condemning Iran's support of a variety of different terrorist groups" and that "Iran must refrain from further violence and provocations."[314]
Senior officials of theU.S. Department of State compared the assassination toOperation Vengeance inWorld War II, when American pilots shot down the plane carrying Japanese AdmiralIsoroku Yamamoto[315][316]—a comparison also offered byThe New York Times, who said killing Yamamoto was "the last time the United States killed a major military leader in a foreign country".[99] Other major media and prominent pundits echoed the comparison.[315][317][318][319]
According to theRussian Ministry of Defense, "Russia has offered Iraq their S-400 air defense system to protect their airspace."[320][321] For only the second time since the start of the country's civil war nearly nine years before, the Russian president,Vladimir Putin, arrived in Syria to meet with its president,Bashar al-Assad, on 7January.[322] In another meeting, in Baghdad, on 6January, Zhang Tao, the Chinese ambassador, told Iraq's caretaker Prime Minister al-Mahdi that "China is keen to increase security and military cooperation in Iraq."[323]
Since the death of Soleimani, US authorities have uncovered several plots by Iran to assassinate officials who served in thefirst Trump administration, including Trump himself, as well as to hackTrump's 2024 presidential campaign.[j] In October 2024, theBiden administration warned Iran that the US would consider any attempts on Trump's life anact of war.[326] The same month,Fox News reported that Iran intended to continue efforts to target Trump and other former U.S. officials, regardless of the outcome of the2024 presidential election. The report said that Iran favored Vice PresidentKamala Harris and sought to prevent Trump's re-election.[327]
In January 2025, days before theTrump's second inauguration, Iranian PresidentMasoud Pezeshkian toldNBC News that Iran never tried to assassinate Trump and never would. He blamed Israel for the reports and cited "Iranophobia" as the motivation for their dissemination.[328] After the start of his second term, Trump left instructions to his staff to "obliterate" Iran in the event of a successful assassination.[329]
In June 2025,The Washington Post, citing intelligence sources, reported that Iranian operatives came close to assassinating former US Secretary of StateMike Pompeo during his 2022 visit to Paris, France.[330] According to the report, the operation was part of a broader Iranian campaign to target former senior US officials involved in the killing of Soleimani.[331] While the plot ultimately failed, sources revealed that Iranian agents had come close to executing the plan on European soil.[332]
In September 2020,Politico reported that anonymous U.S. intelligence sources claimed thatIran was planning an assassination attempt on the US Ambassador to South AfricaLana Marks in South Africa. The threat, which U.S. officials have monitored since spring, has become more specific recently and allegedly involves Iran’s embassy in Pretoria. If executed, the plot could significantly escalate tensions between the U.S. and Iran, putting pressure on Trump to respond, especially during anupcoming election season.[333]
The U.S. intelligence community's"Duty to Warn" directive mandates that spy agencies inform potential victims of credible threats to their lives. Recently, Ambassador Marks, a longtime friend of Trump, was informed of a potential threat from Iranian operatives. TheCIA included this intelligence in its classified World Intelligence Review, which senior U.S. officials and some lawmakers can access. Although Marks has limited known connections to Iran, her association with Trump might make her a target. Iran has an established clandestine network in South Africa for more than a decade, where Marks might be more vulnerable than American diplomats inthe West due to weaker local security collaborations.[333]
In response to the plot, President Trump issued a warning to Iran onTwitter, stating that any attack by Iran in any form on the U.S. or its interests "will be met with a response 1,000 times greater in magnitude." The following morning, he reiterated this stance during an interview onFox & Friends, asserting that his administration was "prepared" to confront any retaliatory actions from Iran.[334]
In August 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice charged an Iranian operative Shahram Poursafi with "plotting to assassinate former PresidentDonald Trump's national security advisorJohn Bolton."[335] Poursafi, a member of Iran’sIslamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was charged for "providing and attempting to provide material support to a transnational murder plot".[336][337][338][339] According to reports,Mike Pompeo was also a target,[340] where a bounty of $1 million was placed for his murder.[341]
In response to the plot, Bolton was granted a protective detail from theUnited States Secret Service on the orders of PresidentJoe Biden.[342] This protection was later rescinded by President Trump upon his return to office on January 20, 2025.[343][344][345]
In September 2024, theUS Department of State offered a $20 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Poursafi.[346]
On March 5, 2024, theFederal Bureau of Investigation through itsMiami, Florida field office issued a public alert on a 41-year-old Iranian national and intelligence agent Majid Dastjani Farahani who was thought to be orchestrating assassination plots against U.S. officials, including former Secretary of StateMike Pompeo.[347][348]
According to the FBI, Farahani is accused of recruiting individuals for various operations inside theUnited States, which includes lethal targeting of current and former United States Government officials as revenge for the killing of Soleimani. The report said Farahani frequently travels between Iran andVenezuela and speaks English, Spanish, and French in addition to Persian.[349]
Farahani was already sanctioned by theOffice of Foreign Assets Control of theUnited States Department of the Treasury in December 2023 for human rights abuses and for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly of theIranian Ministry of Intelligence. The Treasury Department accuses Farahani of recruiting individuals to surveil religious institutions, businesses, and other facilities in the United States as part of Iran's efforts to carry out acts oftransnational repression, including rendition and lethal plots against activists, journalists, and foreign government officials.[350]
An Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson called the allegations "malicious" and "unsubstantiated".[357][358][359] The actingIranian minister of foreign affairs rejected the claim and said it wanted a "legal path to bring [Trump] to justice" for ordering the assassination of Soleimani.[360] It pointed out that from the perspective of the Islamic Republic of Iran, "Trump is a criminal who must be prosecuted and punished in a court of law for ordering the assassination of General Soleimani."[361]
Three weeks later, on August 6, 2024, it was revealed that a Pakistani man with connections to Iran, Asif Merchant, tried to recruit people for the assignment, with one turning into an informant for the FBI. Merchant was arrested inHouston, Texas on July 12, just before attempting to leave the United States.[362]
Donald Trump Jr. called the plot "the greatest political endorsement ever", saying that "when people like Iran want to take you out, that probably means it's good for America, bad for Iran."[363]
During avisit to the United States in 2024, Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu raised concerns about Iran while addressing a joint session of Congress, warning of the threats posed to both Israel and the United States, including the recent assassination attempt on Trump by Iran. In response, Trump published a post alongside a video clip on his social media platform,Truth Social, invoking the possibility of his assassination and calling for the annihilation of Iran in such an event. "If they do 'assassinate President Trump,' which is always a possibility, I hope that America obliterates Iran, wipes it off the face of the Earth. If that does not happen, American Leaders will be considered 'gutless' cowards!" he wrote, echoing rhetoric reminiscent of his most incendiary statements while in office.[364][365]
Hacking of Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign
On August 10, 2024,Politico revealed that it had been receiving internal Trump campaign documents from an anonymous source since July 22, including a 271-page vetting report on vice presidential candidateJD Vance's potential vulnerabilities.[366] The Trump campaign confirmed that it had been hacked and blamed "foreign sources hostile to the United States"; it suggested that Iran was responsible, citing aMicrosoft report the previous day that anIslamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intelligence unit was responsible for aspear phishing attack on a former senior official with a presidential campaign.[366][367][368]
The Washington Post andThe New York Times also reported having received the hacked materials.[369][370] Although the Trump campaign became aware of the hack earlier in the summer, it did not report the hack to law enforcement at the time.[369] The account that sent the documents to the news organizations identified itself as "Robert" and communicated with them via email. Robert claimed to have access to a "variety of documents, from [Trump's] legal and court documents to internal campaign discussions".[366][369]
On November 8, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice charged three men in connection with alleged Iran-linkedmurder-for-hire plots targeting high-profile U.S. citizens in a criminal complaint unsealed in New York. The suspects in the case are Farhad Shakeri, Carlisle Rivera, and Jonathan Loadholt. The FBI accuses Shakeri, an Afghan citizen of being an “asset” of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and is believed to be based in Tehran. Shakeri, who immigrated to the US as a child was deported in 2008 after spending 14 years in prison for a robbery conviction. The IRGC allegedly tasked Shakeri with orchestrating assassination plots as revenge for the killing of Soleimani. The intended targets included president-elect Donald Trump, an Iranian-American activist, and two Jewish-Americans residing inNew York City. Rivera and Loadholt, who met Shakeri during their time in prison, were recruited to assist in these plans and have since been arrested, while Shakeri remains at large.[372][373]
According to reports, the IRGC prioritized the assassination of Trump, instructing Shakeri to focus exclusively on this mission. Surveillance efforts and detailed planning were part of the scheme, with Shakeri allegedly telling an undercover FBI agent that an IRGC official urged him to "set aside other efforts" to focus on Trump, assuring him that "they have already spent a lot of money, so the money's not an issue." The same official reportedly indicated the plot might be halted until after the election, believing his assassination could be easier afterward since Trump would lose the election. Additionally, Shakeri was instructed to monitor and plan attacks on two Jewish-Americans in New York and Israeli tourists in Sri Lanka, with a promised payment of $500,000 for each successful operation.[374]
The activist, believed to be journalistMasih Alinejad, publicly acknowledged the assassination plot against her and expressed her astonishment. In a post onX, she revealed that she was one of the intended targets, stating: "I am shocked. I just learned from the FBI that two men were arrested yesterday in a new plot to kill me atFairfield University, where I was scheduled to give a talk."[375]
Shortly after the charges were announced, Attorney GeneralMerrick Garland stated: "Few actors in the world pose as grave a threat to the national security of the United States as Iran. The Justice Department has charged an operative of the Iranian regime, who was directed to coordinate a network of criminal associates to advance Iran's assassination plots against its targets, including President-elect Donald J. Trump."[374]
In a separate statement, U.S. AttorneyDamian Williams emphasized the ongoing threats posed by individuals acting on behalf of the Iranian government. He stated, "Actors directed by the Government of Iran continue to target our citizens, including President-elect Trump, both on U.S. soil and abroad. This must stop." Williams further asserted, "Today's charges send another clear message to those engaged in such efforts: we will remain steadfast in pursuing bad actors, regardless of their location, and will stop at nothing to bring to justice those who endanger our safety and security."[374]
Following the revelation of the plot,Newsweek reported that the U.S. Secret Service had deployed a remote-controlled robotic dog to safeguard the president-elect at hisMar-a-Lago residence inPalm Beach, Florida. The agency confirmed to Newsweek that therobotic dogs were part of their security assets. “Safeguarding the President-elect is a top priority,” stated Anthony Guglielmi, the U.S. Secret Service's Chief of Communications. “While we cannot disclose specific capabilities, these robotic dogs are equipped with advanced surveillance technology and an array of sensors that enhance our protective operations.”[376]
In the 2022 video gameCall of Duty: Modern Warfare II, the player is tasked with killing a fictional Iranian general named Ghorbrani using a cruise missile. Many news outlets noted that this mission appears to be heavily inspired by the assassination of Qasem Soleimani. The fictional character also visually resembles Soleimani.[377][378][379]
^U.S. PresidentDonald Trump claimed that Soleimani was responsible of planting thousands ofroadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan, by saying: "He was the king of the roadside bombs, great percentages of people don't have legs right now and arms because of this son of a bitch [Qassem Soleimani]".[108] Moreover, British Prime MinisterBoris Johnson mentioned that Soleimani supplied "improvised explosive devices to terrorists, which I'm afraid killed and maimed British troops".[109]
^Soleimani used to avoid using his private plane because of increasing concerns regarding his own security, according to an Iraqi security source familiar with his security precautions.[126]
^Investigators in Iraq and Syria have concentrated on how collaborators inside the Damascus and Baghdad airports aided the U.S. military to track and pinpoint Soleimani's position.[126] In addition,NBC News reported thatIsrael helped in confirming the details provided by the informants.[129] In June 2020, an Iranian citizen, Seyed Mahmoud Mousavi Majd, was sentenced to death for leaking information that led to Suleimani's death;[130] he was executed a month later.[131] In May 2021,Yahoo! News reported that three teams ofDelta Force operators were present during the operation, including sniper teams positioned nearby. Israelis, who had access to Soleimani's phone numbers, provided them to the Americans who traced him to Baghdad and Kurdishspec ops at the Baghdad International Airport helped to identify Soleimani. Later on, as two Hellfire missiles hit Soleimani's vehicle, the other vehicle in the motorcade tried to escape before being hit by another missile.[132]
^U.S. Special Operations forces (SOF) were about 0.5 miles (800 m) behind Soleimani's convoy when it was targeted. However, SOF were on the scene within few minutes and performed abomb damage assessment, where they dragged Soleimani's body out, and took pictures of it along with his belongings, including his damaged cellphone which made further investigations impossible.[150]
^In 2015, the U.S.Federal Reserve andTreasury Department halted Iraq's access to its funds at the New York Fed accounts for several weeks, fearing that they would be eventually taken by Iranian banks as well as ISIS.[233] However, Iraq's oil revenues deposited at the Fed were valued at $3billion every month at the end of 2018, according toThe Wall Street Journal.[234] Meanwhile, Iraqi officials declared that around $35billion of the country's oil revenues are held at the U.S. Federal Reserve, which are equal to 90% of the national budget.[235]
^In the meantime, U.S. PresidentDonald Trump mentioned that Iraq should pay back for the facilities built there, if the U.S. military leaves, as their money held in the U.S., otherwise the troops would stay in Iraq.[236] Moreover, the Trump administration drafted sanctions against Iraq whether they expel U.S. troops.[237]
^The two attempted assassinations of Donald Trump inJuly andSeptember of 2024 were unrelated to Iran.[326]
^For the leading proponent of the view that leadership targeting is not effective, seeJordan, Jenna (2019).Leadership Decapitation: Strategic Targeting of Terrorist Organizations. Stanford University Press.ISBN978-1-5036-0824-5.. For arguments that such targeting does work, seePrice, Bryan C. (Spring 2012). "Targeting Top Terrorists: How Leadership Decapitation Contributes to Counterterrorism".International Security.36 (4):9–46.doi:10.1162/ISEC_a_00075.JSTOR41428119.S2CID15188795.; andJohnston, Patrick B. (Spring 2012). "Does Decapitation Work? Assessing the Effectiveness of Leadership Targeting in Counterinsurgency Campaigns".International Security.36 (4):47–79.doi:10.1162/ISEC_a_00076.JSTOR41428120.S2CID53519659.
^Ali H. M. Abo Rezeg (3 January 2020)."PROFILE—Who is Qasem Soleimani?".Anadolu Agency. Archived fromthe original on 4 January 2020. Retrieved8 January 2020.He was among the Iranian individuals who were sanctioned by the UN Security Council resolution 1747
^Ali H. M. Abo Rezeg (3 January 2020)."PROFILE—Who is Qasem Soleimani?".Anadolu Agency. Archived fromthe original on 4 January 2020. Retrieved8 January 2020.on 24 June 2011, an official statement by the European Union said that European sanctions were imposed on three Iranian commanders of the Revolutionary Guards including Soleimani.
^Lubold, Gordon; Youssef, Nancy A.; Coles, Isabel (7 January 2020)."Iran Fires Missiles at U.S. Forces in Iraq".The Wall Street Journal.Archived from the original on 8 January 2020. Retrieved7 January 2020.White House national security adviser Robert O'Brien told reporters in Washington on Tuesday that General Soleimani "was plotting to kill, to attack American facilities, and diplomats, soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines were located at those facilities".
^Golberg, Geoff (9 January 2020)."Inauthentic Twitter Accounts Continue Pushing For War With Iran".Medium.Archived from the original on 20 February 2020. Retrieved20 February 2020.Translated: nearly 1/5th of the accounts (998) identified in our post from October have recently tweeted, retweeted or were mentioned in tweets where #IraniansDetestSoleimani appears
^Tim Shipman (12 January 2020)."Ben Wallace interview: We can't rely on US".The Times.Archived from the original on 12 January 2020. Retrieved12 January 2020.The intelligence information I have seen, under the right to defend yourself against an imminent threat, that would have been met.
^Rubin, Alissa J.; Hubbard, Ben; Hassan, Falih (4 January 2020),"Cries of 'Revenge Is Coming' at Funerals for Slain Commanders in Iraq",The New York Times,archived from the original on 5 January 2020, retrieved5 January 2020,Tens of thousands mourned the killing of a major Iraqi official and a top Iranian general by a U.S. drone strike... The militias have since been brought under the umbrella of the Iraqi security forces, and Mr. al-Muhandis was their deputy head.
^Batrawy, Aya."Trump's threats draw Iran's cultural sites into tensions".The Washington Post. AP. Archived fromthe original on 5 January 2020. Retrieved5 January 2020.If culturally prominent sites were targeted, the Trump administration might argue they were being used to covertly stockpile weapons that could target U.S. interests and personnel in the region.
^Press conference transcript:"Senior State Department Officials on the Situation in Iraq," Special Briefing, 3 January 2020, Office of the Spokesperson,U.S. Department of State, retrieved 26 September 2021; "SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE:...Secretary Esper... said that Soleimani was developing plans to attack diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region, and so this is a defensive strike. ... * * * QUESTION:The decision to take [Soleimani] out wasn't necessarily a way of removing this... threat that you were talking about in these different countries and these different facilities – but it's a way to mitigate it in the future?... SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL THREE:It slows it down. It makes it less likely. It's shooting down Yamamoto in 1942."
^Ian W. Toll:"Before Soleimani, there was Yamamoto. But the history is very different." 12 January 2020,Washington Post, retrieved 26 September 2020;"The U.S. military's targeted killing of... Qasem Soleimani... was not unprecedented. A famous antecedent occurred during World War II, when U.S. forces targeted a senior Japanese admiral by shooting down his aircraft in the South Pacific. Lately the episode has been mentioned amid the debate over justifications of the Soleimani strike..."
^Lowry, Rich:Where Does Admiral Yamamoto Go to Get His Apology?" in "Politics & Policy," 6 January 2020,National Review, retrieved 26 September 2020;"Before there was Qasem Soleimani, there was Admiral Yamamoto... If it was wrong to kill Soleimani, it was wrong to kill Yamamoto — just as barbaric and illegal, just as damnable an 'assassination.'"
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