This archive report was first published on 3 January 2020.
On January 3, 2020, a US air raid at Baghdad's international airport resulted in the death of General Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force.
The US Department of Defence confirmed that Soleimani was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members, and the wounding of thousands more.
According to the US, the strike was aimed at deterring future attacks allegedly being planned by Iran, following a pro-Iran mob's siege of the US embassy in Iraq.
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif slammed the US strike as 'extremely dangerous and a foolish escalation.'
Former White House National Security official Hillary Mann Leverett described the US killing of Soleimani as a 'declaration of war' on Iran.
Iran's former commander of the Revolutionary Guards, Mohsen Rezaei, vowed 'vigorous revenge against America' for the killing of Soleimani.
