Why did the United States assassinate general Qassem Soleimani? A radiography of the escalation of tensions between the United States and Iran at the beginning of 2020

Una radiografía de la escalada de tensiones entre Estados Unidos e Irán a inicios del 2020

Abstract

On January 3rd 2020, the United States (US) decided to carry out a drone strike in Baghdad’s International Airport to kill general Qassem Soleimani, in this strike the Deputy Chief of the Popular Mobilization Forces of Iraq was also assassinated. This act was an escalation of the tensions between the US and Iran and had significant repercussions not only at a regional level, but also at an international one, accumulating also criticism in the US. With the objective to analyse the recent escalation of tensions, aiming to answer what happened and why, this article describes the facts and the context in which they took place. It, then, puts forward five theses explaining the US decision as well as one concerning the Iranian retaliation. This work utilizes mainly journalist sources and extends the time frame of analysis from the mid of 2018 to February 2020.