January 7th, 2020. Breaking news: about two dozen ballistic missiles hit United States facilities in Iraq. More specifically, the targets were military bases in Western Iraq where hundreds of American soldiers are deployed.
This was the escalation of the latest tension between Iran and the United States that had erupted on January 3rd. On that day, the US army launched a deadly strike against a convoy that was leaving Baghdad Airport.
Travelling in that convoy were two leading figures of Middle Eastern geopolitics. The first was Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, a special operations group within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard.
He was one of the most important leaders of the Iranian theocracy. Next to him there was Aby Mahdi al-Muhandis, chief of Kata’ib Hezbollah or Hezbollah Brigades, an Iraqi militia founded in 2003 in order to fight US troops deployed in the country.
According to the Pentagon, this deadly strike was carried out according to orders given by Donald Trump himself, the President of the United States.
Now the question is… who was Qasem Soleimani? What does his loss mean to Middle Eastern politics? Why did Trump decide to end his life? Why and how is Iran reacting to this? And the most important question of all… What could happen next?
Are we about to witness a war between The United States and Iran? Let’s take a look.
Donald John Trump was the 45th President of the United States. Before entering politics, he was a businessman and television personality. Trump was born and raised in Queens, a borough of New York City, and received a bachelor’s degree in economics from the Wharton School.
Iran, also called Persia, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a country in Western Asia. Its central location in Eurasia and proximity to the Strait of Hormuz give it significant geostrategic importance. Tehran is the capital and largest city.
Iran is home to one of the world’s oldest civilizations, beginning with the formation of the Elamite kingdoms in the fourth millennium BC. The Iranian Revolution established the current Islamic Republic in 1979.
Iran’s political system combines elements of a presidential democracy and an Islamic theocracy. Iran is a founding member of the UN, ECO, OIC, and OPEC. It is a major regional and middle power and has large reserves of fossil fuels — including the world’s largest natural gas supply and the third largest proven oil reserves.
The country’s rich cultural legacy is reflected in part by its 22 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Historically a multi-ethnic country, Iran remains a pluralistic society comprising numerous ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups, the largest being Persians, Azeris, Kurds, Mazandaranis and Lurs.
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in Western Asia. The capital and largest city is Baghdad. Iraq is home to diverse ethnic groups including Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen, Assyrians, Yazidis, Shabakis, Armenians, Mandaeans, Circassians, Sabians and Kawliya. Around 99% of the country’s 38 million citizens are Muslims, with small minorities of Christians, Yarsans, Yezidis and Mandeans also present. The official languages of Iraq are Arabic and Kurdish.
Iraq has a coastline measuring 58 km (36 miles) on the northern Persian Gulf and encompasses the Mesopotamian Alluvial Plain, the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range and the eastern part of the Syrian Desert. Two major rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, run south through Iraq and into the Shatt al-Arab near the Persian Gulf. These rivers provide Iraq with significant amounts of fertile land. The region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, historically known as Mesopotamia, is often referred to as the cradle of civilisation.
Iraq is a federal parliamentary republic consisting of 19 governorates, four of which make up the autonomous Kurdistan Region. Disputes over the sovereignty of Kurdistan Region continue.
Iraq is a founding member of the UN as well as of the Arab League, OIC, Non-Aligned Movement and the IMF.
The United States is a country also known as the United States of America, USA, US or just America. There are fifty states in the union, which is a federal republic ruled by a representative democracy. Nearly ten million square kilometres are inhabited by over 300 million people. The majority of Americans speak English.
