- Thousands of pro-Iranian protesters forced entry into the U.S. embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday, and the Pentagon sent reinforcements to the area.
- On Thursday evening, the Pentagon confirmed that it had killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, angering the Islamic republic.
- On Friday, Washington announced the deployment of 3,000 to 3,500 additional troops to the Middle East.
Tensions escalate after the death of Iranian general Soleimani in an American attack in Iraq that Tehran has promised to avenge. The United States has indeed decided to deploy 3,000 to 3,500 additional soldiers in the Middle East to strengthen the security of American positions in the region, a senior Pentagon official said on Friday. An escalation that raises fears of an open conflict between the two enemy countries.
The soldiers are members of a rapid reaction force of the 82nd Airborne Division, who were put on alert immediately after the attack on the US Embassy in Baghdad, the official said on condition of anonymity.
Concern in Iraq
Iraq said it feared "a devastating war" on its soil after the unprecedented raid that killed Qassem Soleimani, the man of Iranian influence in the Middle East, and his first Iraqi lieutenant Abu Mehdi al-Mouhandis, Number two of Hachd al-Chaabi, these mostly pro-Iranian Iraqi paramilitaries.
The strike, which has sparked worried reactions around the world, was ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump after an attack on Tuesday by Hashd supporters and fighters against the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
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