The US killing of Iran's top military commander triggered the first direct Iranian military strike on US forces and brought the two nations to the brink of open war.
Key Facts
- Date of strike
- 3 January 2020
- Target
- Qasem Soleimani, commander of IRGC Quds Force
- Total killed
- 10 (including Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis)
- Iranian missile retaliation
- 8 January 2020, strikes on US bases in Iraq
- Iraqi parliament response
- Non-binding resolution to expel foreign troops, 5 Jan 2020
- Iran nuclear deal step
- Iran took final step reducing nuclear deal commitments
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Amid the 2019–2022 Persian Gulf crisis, following the US withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and reimposition of sanctions, a series of escalating incidents culminated in an attack on K-1 Air Base killing a US contractor and a subsequent militia assault on the US embassy in Baghdad, prompting Washington to act against Soleimani, whom it held responsible for orchestrating regional attacks on American personnel.
On 3 January 2020, a US drone strike ordered by President Donald Trump killed Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani, commander of the IRGC Quds Force and considered Iran's second most powerful figure, near Baghdad International Airport. Nine others died alongside him, including Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy chairman of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces. The US cited prevention of an imminent attack as justification, though the legal basis was widely disputed.
Iran vowed revenge and on 8 January 2020 launched ballistic missile strikes against US forces in Iraq, marking the first direct Iranian military attack on American troops since 1988. Iraq's parliament passed a resolution demanding foreign troop expulsion, Iran abandoned its remaining nuclear deal commitments, and the IRGC accidentally shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 amid the heightened alert, killing 176 people.