On May 8, 2018, President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the Iran nuclear agreement and called it the “worst deal ever.” He said he would seek better terms that dealt with Iran’s missile development and its support for regional militias. Those talks never happened during his first term, the Associated Press timeline carried by PBS noted.
Iran answered a year later. On May 8, 2019, it announced it would start backing away from the accord. A run of attacks followed, on land and at sea, and the AP attributed them to Tehran.
Iraq, the last weeks of 2019
The pressure moved to Iraq at the end of the year. A rocket attack in the north on December 27 killed an American contractor. Two days later the United States struck Hezbollah Brigade bases. On December 31, supporters of Iraqi Shiite militias breached the US Embassy compound in Baghdad, Gulf News reported.
The strike at Baghdad airport
Early on Friday, January 3, 2020, a US airstrike hit near the cargo area of Baghdad International Airport as Qasem Soleimani’s plane arrived. Soleimani led Iran’s Quds Force. Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy commander of Iranian-backed militias in Iraq, died with him, and Dawn reported five more deaths. The Pentagon said Trump had ordered the operation and that Soleimani “was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region.”
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared three days of mourning and promised that “severe revenge awaits the criminals.” Brigadier General Esmail Qaani took over the Quds Force. Oil climbed the same day: Brent crude rose 4.4 percent to $69.16, according to Dawn. The State Department told Americans to leave Iraq, and US oil workers began evacuating from Iraqi fields, with officials reporting no immediate effect on production.
Retaliation on January 8
Iran fired missiles on January 8 at bases in Iraq that housed American and Iraqi troops. The Pentagon later said more than 100 US service members suffered traumatic brain injuries. The same day, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane soon after it left Tehran’s airport, reportedly mistaking it for a US cruise missile. All 176 people on board died.
Sources
- A timeline of tensions over Iran's nuclear program as talks with U.S. approach
- Iran's Gen. Soleimani killed in US airstrike at Baghdad airport: What is happening now
- Top Iran commander killed in US strike on Baghdad; Khamenei vows revenge
