What You Need to Know About the Conflict in Iran
For many, the end of 2019 meant the start of a new decade. Though, 2020 began with an unexpected conflict. On January 3rd, it was confirmed that a top Iraian military general, Qasem Soleimani, was killed by a U.S. drone at the Baghdad International Airport in Iran. The attack was ordered by President Donald Trump, who said that Soleimani was planning "imminent and sinister attacks on American diplomats and military personnel".
Soleimani was a powerful, well-respected general in the Iranian military and had served since the early 1980’s. His unexpected death devastated many Iranians, who saw him as a hero, while Americans viewed him a villain responsible for the deaths of countless citizens. The Iranian public’s reaction to Soleimani’s death was widespread. A funeral was held for Soleimani on January 7th, and during the funeral hundreds of thousands of Iranians crowded the streets to pay their respects and express their anger over his death. Unfortunately, 56 people were killed in a stampede that broke out during the funeral. The reasons behind the stampede are unknown, but the massive turnout at Soleimani’s funeral proves the impact that his death had on the Iranian people.
In a CNN interview, the main military advisor of Iran, Hossien Dehghan, reported that Iran has sworn revenge against the U.S. for Solemani’s death. In the interview he states, “It might be argued that there could be proxy operations. We can say America, Mr. Trump, has taken action directly against us -- so we take direct action against America”. The attacks are expected to be against American military bases in Iran, but many in the U.S. fear that Iran will go further in its efforts to exact revenge on America.
Iran followed up on their revenge promise on January 7th. At approximately 5:30 pm, two military bases that housed U.S. troops were attacked by a dozen ballistic missiles. The missiles were confirmed to be from the Iranian military, but luckily, no casualties were reported as the U.S. troops at the bases were warned beforehand and quickly fled before the bases were attacked. Donald Trump delivered a short speech the day after the strike and confirmed no deaths. Both sides, the Americans and Iranians decided to stand down after Iran’s strike.
Donald Trump appeared confident after the annunciation of Soleimani’s death, tweeting: “If Iran attacks an American Base, or any American, we will be sending some of that brand new beautiful equipment their way...and without hesitation!” It is important to note that the conflict with Iran comes in light of Trump’s controversial impeachment trial.
A week after the attack, Iran announced that they would be breaking from Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action deal from 2016 that limited Iran’s nuclear program. Now, Iran can continue their nuclear plans. This causes European countries like Germany and the United Kingdom to create peace between both the U.S and Iran. Little is known at the moment regarding the situation, as the U.S. has not released any official statements.
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