5 years ago – on January 3, 2020, the drone strike launched by the US near Baghdad airport brought the Middle East and the world as a whole face to face with the threat of a new war.
Modern.az recalls that as a result of the strike, General Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of Iran, was killed. The incident brought years of accumulated tension in Tehran–Washington relations to a peak and caused serious political resonance on a global scale.
Qassem Soleimani was not just a military figure for Iran. Within the IRGC and especially as the leader of the Quds Force, he was considered one of the main architects of Iran's regional strategy. Soleimani played a significant role in expanding Iran's influence in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen, and was presented as one of Tehran's key military figures in the fight against "ISIS". The Iranian authorities and their supporters valued him as a national hero, a key figure protecting Iran's security in the region.
Funeral ceremonies held in Iran after Soleimani's death were attended by millions of people. However, these ceremonies were not without tragedy. Dozens of people died and hundreds were injured in the stampede caused by the crowd in Kerman city.
US President Donald Trump later stated in his remarks that he had personally made the decision to kill Soleimani. According to Trump, Washington took this step to prevent possible attacks against US diplomats and military personnel. Iran, in turn, called it "state terrorism" and responded by launching missile strikes on US military bases in Iraq. During those days, the possibility of a Third World War was openly discussed.
Even after five years, the killing of Qassem Soleimani is considered one of the main turning points that altered the balance of power in the Middle East and intensified the nature of the US–Iran confrontation.
