This archive report was first published on 3 January 2020.
January 3, 2020, marked a dramatic escalation of tensions between the United States and Iran as the US killed a top Iranian general, Qasem Soleimani, in an attack on Baghdad's international airport.
The killing of Soleimani, the head of Iran's Quds Force, was confirmed by Hashed al-Shaabi, a powerful Iraqi paramilitary force linked to Tehran.
US President Donald Trump later tweeted a picture of the American flag, and the Pentagon confirmed that he had ordered Soleimani's killing.
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned of 'severe revenge' for 'the criminals who bloodied their foul hands with his blood', while the country's foreign minister called the move a 'dangerous escalation'.
Oil prices surged 4.4% to $69.16 and 4.3% to $63.84 as investors grew increasingly worried about the effects of a possible flare-up in the Middle East on supplies of the commodity.
'This is more than just bloodying Iran's nose,' said AxiTrader's Stephen Innes. 'This is an aggressive show of force and an outright provocation that could trigger another Middle East war.'
