The Qasem Soleimani Airstrike, 2020
The year 2020 began with a shocking and unprecedented event: the assassination of Iran’s top general, Qasem Soleimani, by a US drone strike in Baghdad, Iraq. The killing of Soleimani, who was the head of the Quds Force, an elite unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, sparked a major escalation in tensions between the US and Iran, and brought the two countries to the brink of war.
But who was Qasem Soleimani, and why did the US target him? What were the consequences of his death, and how did the situation unfold in the days and weeks after the strike? In this blog post, we will explore these questions and more, using an animated video by The Operations Room, a YouTube channel that covers military history and current affairs.
Who was Qasem Soleimani?
Qasem Soleimani was born in 1957 in a poor village in southeastern Iran. He joined the Revolutionary Guards in 1979, after the Islamic Revolution that overthrew the US-backed Shah. He fought in the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, and rose to prominence as a commander of the Quds Force in the 1990s. The Quds Force is responsible for Iran’s overseas operations, including supporting proxy groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Palestine, and the Houthis in Yemen. Soleimani also played a key role in expanding Iran’s influence in Iraq and Syria, where he helped the governments of Bashar al-Assad and Nouri al-Maliki fight against rebel groups and the Islamic State. He was widely seen as the second most powerful figure in Iran, after the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who called him a “living martyr of the revolution”.
Soleimani was also a sworn enemy of the US and its allies in the region, such as Israel and Saudi Arabia. He was accused of orchestrating attacks on US troops in Iraq, supporting terrorist groups that targeted Israeli civilians, and destabilizing the Middle East with his interventionist policies. The US designated him and the Quds Force as terrorists in 2007 and 2019, respectively, and imposed sanctions on them. The US also blamed him for the attack on the US embassy in Baghdad on December 31, 2019, which was carried out by Iran-backed militias in response to US airstrikes that killed 25 members of Kataib Hezbollah, one of the militias.
Why did the US kill him?
On January 3, 2020, Soleimani arrived in Baghdad from either Lebanon or Syria, where he had been meeting with officials and militia leaders. He was accompanied by Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy head of the Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella group of Iran-backed militias in Iraq. As they were leaving the airport in two cars, they were hit by a US drone strike near a cargo area. The strike killed Soleimani, al-Muhandis, and at least seven other people.
The strike was ordered by US President Donald Trump, who said that Soleimani was “directly and indirectly responsible for the deaths of millions of people” and that he was “plotting to kill many more”. Trump claimed that the strike was aimed at deterring future Iranian attacks and protecting US personnel and interests in the region. He also said that Soleimani should have been killed “many years ago”.
The strike was a surprise and a shock to many, as it was a drastic escalation of the US-Iran conflict, and a violation of Iraqi sovereignty. It also raised the question of whether the US had a legal justification for the strike, and whether it had acted in self-defense or in violation of international law. The UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings, Agnes Callamard, said that the strike was unlawful, as there was no evidence of an imminent threat from Soleimani, and that it violated the UN Charter and the Iraqi constitution.
What were the consequences of his death?
The death of Soleimani triggered a wave of anger and grief in Iran and among its allies. Millions of people attended his funeral procession in several cities, chanting “Death to America” and “Revenge, revenge” . Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, vowed that “severe revenge awaits the criminals” behind the strike, and declared three days of national mourning. Iran also announced that it would no longer abide by the 2015 nuclear deal, which had limited its uranium enrichment in exchange for sanctions relief, and that it would resume its nuclear activities without any restrictions .
On January 8, 2020, Iran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles at two US military bases in Iraq, Al Asad and Erbil, in retaliation for the strike. The attack injured more than 100 US troops, mostly with traumatic brain injuries, but did not cause any fatalities . Iran claimed that it had killed 80 US soldiers, and that it had deliberately avoided hitting areas where Iraqi troops were stationed . The US did not respond militarily to the attack, but imposed new sanctions on Iran’s sectors of economy, such as metals, mining, and construction .
On the same day, a Ukrainian passenger plane, flight PS752, was shot down by two Iranian missiles shortly after taking off from Tehran’s airport, killing all 176 people on board. The plane was carrying mostly Iranian and Canadian citizens, as well as nationals from Ukraine, Sweden, Afghanistan, and the UK. Iran initially denied any responsibility for the incident, but later admitted that it had mistakenly shot down the plane, blaming human error and high tensions . The incident sparked protests in Iran, where people demanded accountability and justice for the victims, and condemned the government’s cover-up and lies .
How did the situation unfold after the strike?
The strike on Soleimani and its aftermath marked a critical moment in the US-Iran relations, and in the geopolitics of the Middle East. The strike brought the two countries to the edge of war, but also created an opportunity for dialogue and de-escalation. The strike also exposed the fragility and complexity of the situation in Iraq, where the US and Iran have competing interests and influence, and where the Iraqi people have been protesting against corruption, unemployment, and foreign interference.
After the strike, the Iraqi parliament passed a non-binding resolution calling for the expulsion of all foreign troops from the country, including the US-led coalition that had been fighting against the Islamic State . The US rejected the resolution, and said that it would not withdraw its troops, but that it would suspend its anti-IS operations and focus on protecting its bases . The US also threatened to impose sanctions on Iraq if it forced the US troops to leave . The Iraqi government, which was in a caretaker status after the resignation of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi in November 2019, faced a dilemma of balancing its relations with the US and Iran, and responding to the demands of its people.
The strike also prompted a diplomatic effort to ease the tensions and prevent further escalation. Several countries, such as France, Germany, the UK, Russia, China, Japan, and Qatar, offered to mediate between the US and Iran, and urged both sides to exercise restraint and respect the international law . The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, invited Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, to Brussels for talks, and said that the EU was committed to preserving the nuclear deal and de-escalating the situation . The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, called for “maximum restraint” and “dialogue and diplomacy” to avoid a new war in the region .
The strike also had an impact on the domestic politics of the US and Iran, especially in the context of the upcoming presidential elections in both countries. In the US, Trump faced criticism from the Democrats and some Republicans, who accused him of acting without congressional authorization and without a clear strategy. The House of Representatives passed a resolution to limit Trump’s war powers against Iran, and the Senate passed a similar bill, but both were vetoed by Trump . Trump also faced questions about the intelligence and the rationale behind the strike, and whether he had exaggerated the threat posed by Soleimani. Trump defended his decision, and said that he had acted to “stop a war, not to start a war” .
In Iran, the strike boosted the popularity and legitimacy of the hardliners, who had been losing ground to the moderates and reformists in the previous years. The strike also overshadowed the protests that had erupted in November 2019, after the government raised the fuel prices, and that had been met with a violent crackdown that killed hundreds of people . However, the shooting down of the Ukrainian plane reignited the protests, and exposed the divisions and discontent within the Iranian society. The protesters called for the resignation of the Supreme Leader, and chanted slogans against the regime and its foreign interventions .
