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The United States killed General Qassem Soleimani, responsible for Iranian military interests in the Middle East, in a strike at Baghdad airport. The operational head of pro-Iranian militias in Iraq, Mehdi al-Mouhandis, was also killed. From the death of one of the most powerful Iranian military leaders to that of an American in northern Iraq, the chronology of a week of escalation.
On January 3, 2020 , the powerful Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, envoy of the Islamic Republic to Iraq, and a pro-Iranian leader are killed in an American raid in Baghdad. The strike was decided by Donald Trump, who himself ordered to " kill " the head of the Al-Quds force. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has threatened to " avenge " the death of Soleimani and decreed three days of national mourning.
►Read also: The powerful Iranian general Soleimani killed by the United States in Iraq
On Thursday, January 2 , the United States Secretary of Defense said he had indications that there were further attacks on US facilities. The pentagon declared that the American bombardment was intended to dissuade Iran from any plan in this direction.
Wednesday, January 1 , in Iran, the Iranian foreign ministry summons the Swiss charge d'affaires to protest against the "warmongering" of the United States, this event following these same American air strikes intervened on the pro-Iran faction in Iraq. Switzerland represents the interests of the United States in Iran, in the absence of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
On Tuesday, December 31, 2019 , thousands of Iraqis, supporters of pro-Iranian paramilitaries, stormed the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad to protest the U.S. raids. Donald Trump threatens to make Tehran pay the " high price ". Pro-Iranian Iraqi protesters dismantled the tents at their camp and withdrew from the vicinity of the U.S. Embassy the following day.
On Sunday, December 29 , at least 25 pro-Iran fighters were killed near al-Qaim, on the Iraqi-Syrian border, in US retaliatory raids against Iranian-backed Iraqi factions. The US military has announced it has hit five bases in Iraq and Syria in a movement close to pro-Iranian Hezbollah. These raids targeted a pro-Iranian Iraqi Shiite militia.
Two days earlier, rounds of rockets hit areas where American soldiers and diplomats are based. Unclaimed, they killed on Friday December 27 , an American subcontractor and were attributed by Washington to pro-Iran forces.
► Death of Soleimani: "The military escalation still dangerous", says Paris