The Situation Between the US and Iran - January 8, 2020

January 8, 2020 – What is happening between the United States and Iran? Is this the beginning of World War Three? – By Piper Hedges

 

5 days ago, on January 3, 2020, the assassination of the Head of the Revolutionary Guard's elite Quds force, and architect of Iranian policy, Qasem Soleimani, took place, through a drone strike at Baghdad airport. This was carried out with the intent of taking out Soleimani, as he was deemed as a terrorist by the US, allegedly being responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American troops and plotting immediate attacks against them. Iran then vowed "severe revenge" upon the US for his death, while millions of Iranians joined the streets for the funeral of the commander. The death of such a significant figure to the Iranians caused tensions between the two countries to soar, raising the fear, by many, of a third world war.

 

Last night, at around 22:30, more than a dozen missiles were launched from Iran, striking two US air bases in Irbil and Al Asad in Iraq, coming soon after the burial of Soleimani, and just hours before a Ukrainian airliner crashed in Iran, shortly after take-off, killing all those aboard. However, there is no evidence that the two are linked, but several airlines have announced, due to rising tension, they will be avoiding both Iranian and Iraqi airspaces.

 

Since this, US President Donald Trump has stated that no US or Iraqi lives were lost, and the bases only suffered minimal damage. As well as this, Trump commented on other important messages, one of them being de-escalation, stating that Iran was "standing down", and did not threaten an immediate US response, saying that even though they have a large amount of equipment and militia, "it does not mean we have to use it". As well as this, he emphasised to other nations involved in the 2015 nuclear agreement, the JCPOA, to also withdraw as the US did previously. Finally, Trump called upon other NATO countries to "become much more involved in the Middle East process", a possible signal that the US is growing tired of its role in the Middle East. After this speech from Trump, it hopefully appears as though the situation will now be relying on diplomatic discussions, and everything depends on how events unfold throughout the coming days and weeks.

 

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