On January 3, 2020, days after the celebrations of the New Year’s, a secret operation administered by Donald Trump took place. An airstrike missile had killed Maj. Gen Qassem Soleimani who was considered Iran’s most notorious leaders of operations and intelligence. Qassem Soleimani was in charge of Iran’s military in the Middle East and the country has taken 3 days to mourn in order to pay their respects for their national hero. There is no clear reason as to why Donald Trump wanted to have the general eliminated, however, tensions arose when Donald Trump had pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal in May of 2018. This deal included several other countries such as the US, UK, France, China, Russia, and Germany which restricted Iran from its nuclear development. In return, these countries had agreed to loosen up their restrictions on Iran and made it easier for the country to have more freedom. When the U.S had decided to part ways with the plan, it created a significant amount of issues between the two countries since the U.S was no longer able to obtain oil from their facilities.
However, two weeks later, Iran had shot down a Ukrainian airline which killed all 176 civilians aboard the plane. This broke out major protests in Iran since the people who were on the plane were mainly Iran residents. As a result, Donald Trump decided to voice his opinion and tweet that the leaders should not “kill their protesters”. The tweet has been retweeted thousands of times and has managed to catch the attention of everyone around the world. It is difficult to understand the stance that the president is taking since he wants the people of Iran to be protected but is also sending troops to their country in order to keep the United States safe. Although Iran refuses to admit that they had shot down their own airline, several countries have stepped up and have responded towards the malicious act.
All in all, the United States will keep guarded for any new leads Iran will make. As of today, the United States is finding ways in order to improve the cyber security of the country and making sure Iran is not making any new nuclear weapons. Although tensions are high, Trump has been optimistic about the decisions he has taken. Qassem has been a threat to the United States since he has been targeted for terrorist acts. Several Americans believe it was a wrongful decision to have him killed since the U.S now faces a threat towards Iran. All we can do is hope and pray for the future and expect a new strategy from Trump.
References:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/42555015