‘Eclipses the death of Bin Laden’: reaction to US killing of top Iranian general
Death of Qasem Soleimani ‘one of biggest developments in the Middle East for decades’
The killing of the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ elite Quds Force in a US air strike has triggered warnings of a potential all-out conflict between the two nations.
General Qasem Soleimani was targeted by a drone strike at Iraq’s Baghdad International Airport in the early hours of Friday, in what the Pentagon has described as a “decisive defensive action”.
US military officials claim Soleimani approved recent attacks by protestors on the US embassy in Baghdad, and say he was killed “at the direction” of President Donald Trump.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What has the reaction been?
Charles Lister, director of the counterterrorism programme at the Washington D.C.-based Middle East Institute, describes the killing as “one of the biggest developments in the Middle East for decades”.
In an article for The Telegraph, Lister says the death of Soleimani “far eclipses the deaths of [Osama] Bin Laden or [Abu Bakr] Baghdadi in terms of strategic significance and implications”.
“His death is a serious loss for Iran’s regional agenda, but his ‘martyrdom’ will likely fuel a response that will, at least in the medium term, make up for his death,” Lister adds.
The New York Times’ Eric Nagourney says that Soleimani was seen by many as a future leader of Iran.
“The general, a once-shadowy figure who enjoyed celebrity status among the hard-line conservatives in Iran, was a figure of intense interest to people both inside and outside the country,” writes Nagourney.
“It is not just that he was in charge of Iranian intelligence gathering and covert military operations, and regarded as one of its most cunning and autonomous military figures. He was also believed to be very close to the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.”
Nagourney notes that Soleimani was understood to be the “chief strategist” behind Iran’s military operations in Syria, Iraq and across the Middle East.
That view is echoed by Middle East scholar Andrew Exum, who in an article for The Atlantic writes that “I do not know of a single Iranian who was more indispensable to his government’s ambitions in the Middle East”.
“From a military and diplomatic perspective, Soleimani was Iran’s David Petraeus and Stan McChrystal and Brett McGurk all rolled into one,” says Exum, comparing the Iranian to the former CIA director, US army general and senior diplomat respectively.
“This doesn’t mean war, it will not lead to war, and it doesn’t risk war. None of that. It is war,” Exum concludes.
The Guardian’s Juilan Borger agrees, writing that the killing “has closed one gruesome chapter in the region’s endless conflicts, only to open another, which could well prove even worse”.
The latest twist in the long-running proxy war between the US and Iran has “dispensed with proxies altogether and aimed a direct dagger thrust into the heart of Iranian power”, he adds.
What next?
Supreme Leader Khamenei warned in a statement following Soleimani’s death that “severe revenge awaits those criminals who have tainted their filthy hands with his blood”.
Meanwhile, Defence Minister Amir Hatami said that the attack by the “arrogant US” would be met with a “crushing” response, reports The Washington Post.
As tensions continue to soar, Foreign Policy claims the killing could “mark the most dramatic escalation of the Middle East conflict since the Iraq War”.
“We are moving into a period where there is a strong possibility of escalating war and direct conflict between the United States and Iran,” Seth Jones, an expert on Middle East extremism at the Washington D.C.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, told the magazine.
The US embassy in Baghdad has urged US citizens in Iraq to depart the country immediately “via airline while possible, and failing that, to other countries via land”, reports Sky News.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Are 'judge shopping' rules a blow to Republicans?
Today's Big Question How the abortion pill case got to the Supreme Court
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Climate change is driving Indian women to choose sterilization
under the radar Faced with losing their jobs, they are making a life-altering decision
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
'A great culture will be lost if the EV brigade gets its way'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
What is Iran's endgame?
Today's Big Question Tehran seeks to supplant US and Saudi Arabia as dominant power in Middle East while forcing Israel to end Gaza war
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Israel proposes two-month pause in Gaza war in exchange for all Hamas hostages
Speed Read Deal doesn't include an agreement to end war, but might be 'the only path that could lead to a ceasefire', said US officials
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
British warship repels 'largest Houthi attack to date' in the Red Sea
Speed read Western allies warn of military response to Iranian-backed Yemeni rebels if attacks on ships continue
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
How Islamic State bombings in Iran could escalate regional war
The Explainer Terrorist group claims responsibility for deadly blasts on 'irredeemable foe' but Tehran likely to ramp up anti-US rhetoric
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Rape as a weapon: why war's 'oldest, most silenced' crime is on the rise
The Explainer Atrocities reported in Israel, Iran, Sudan and Ukraine as global conflicts bring increase in sexual violence
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Israel preparing to flood Hamas tunnels with seawater
Speed Read IDF pumps could drive out terrorists but critics warn of danger to hostages and Gaza water supply
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Israel plans next phase of Gaza war as first hostages released
Speed read After four-day ceasefire 'we will not stop' until destruction of Hamas, says Israel
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Humanitarian pause: what it means and how it differs from a ceasefire
The Explainer World divided between calling for a complete cessation of fighting and a temporary truce to allow aid to reach Gaza
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published