{"id":42192,"date":"2020-01-08T11:22:49","date_gmt":"2020-01-08T11:22:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=42192"},"modified":"2020-01-08T11:22:49","modified_gmt":"2020-01-08T11:22:49","slug":"us-iran-tensions-how-confrontation-between-the-rivals-escalated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=42192","title":{"rendered":"US-Iran tensions: How confrontation between the rivals escalated"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Tensions between the United States<\/a> and Iran<\/a> have escalated dramatically after a top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani was killed<\/a> on Friday in a US air attack on Baghdad International Airport.<\/p>\n

The Pentagon said US President Donald Trump<\/a> ordered Soleimani’s “killing” after a group of Iraqi militia members and supporters attempted to storm the US embassy in Iraq<\/a> on Tuesday, breaking through the perimeter and setting a number of fires.<\/p>\n

More:<\/h4>\n

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei swiftly pledged to take “severe revenge” for Soleimani’s death, the biggest escalation yet in a feared proxy war between Iran and the US on Iraq, where the US and Iran have vied for influence since the US-led invasion in 2003.<\/p>\n

While the US has maintained a military presence in the country, leading a coalition to fight the ISIL (ISIS) group, Iran wields vast influence over Iraqi politics and also backs a number of Iraqi militias within the\u00a0Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), an umbrella of armed groups.\u00a0<\/span>The militias have long sought the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq.<\/p>\n

Amid concern that the killing of Soleimani could lead to a military escalation in Iraq and the wider region, here is a recap of the recent events that led to the killing:<\/p>\n

US contractor killed<\/strong><\/h2>\n

On December 27, a rocket attack<\/a> on an Iraqi military base in Kirkuk\u00a0killed a US contractor and wounded several US servicemembers and Iraqi personnel.<\/span><\/p>\n

In its statement confirming the attack, the US-led coalition against the ISIL did not specify who might be responsible, but US officials later blamed Kataib Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militia, for the attack.<\/span><\/p>\n

US targets militia sites<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Two days later, the US military carried out<\/a> “defensive strikes” on sites in Iraq and Syria belonging to Kataib Hezbollah that Washington said was in retaliation for the killing of the US contractor.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Iraqi security and militia sources said at least 25 fighters were killed and 55 others wounded following the air attacks in Iraq on Sunday.<\/p>\n

At least four Kataib Hezbollah commanders were among the dead, the sources said, adding that one of the raids had hit the Iran-backed group’s headquarters near the western al-Qaim district on the border with Syria.<\/p>\n

Iran strongly condemned the attacks with a government spokesman saying: “America has shown its firm support for terrorism and its neglect for the independence and sovereignty of countries and it must accept consequences for its illegal act.”<\/p>\n

Protesters storm US embassy\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

On December 31, enraged members and supporters of pro-Iranian paramilitary groups in Iraq,\u00a0<\/span>broke into<\/a> the heavily fortified US embassy compound in Baghdad, smashing a main door and setting parts of its perimeter on fire.<\/p>\n

Trump blamed Iran for killing the US contractor and the ensuing tensions around the embassy.<\/p>\n

“Iran is orchestrating an attack on the US Embassy in Iraq. They will be held fully responsible,” he wrote<\/a> on Twitter.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

….Iran will be held fully responsible for lives lost, or damage incurred, at any of our facilities. They will pay a very BIG PRICE! This is not a Warning, it is a Threat. Happy New Year!<\/p>\n

\u2014 Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 31, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

US troops and Iraqi security forces fired<\/a> tear gas and stun grenades at the protesters – PMF members and their supporters – who had encircled the embassy compound.<\/p>\n

The sit-in ended<\/a>\u00a0on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"Anti-US<\/div>\n

A protester holds a placard with US President Donald Trump illustration burning outside the US embassy during a protest in Baghdad on January 1, 2020 [File: Khalid al-Mousily\/Reuters]<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Meanwhile, on Thursday, US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said there were “some indications” that Iran or groups it supports “may be planning additional attacks” on US interests in the Middle East<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“If that happens then we will act and by the way, if we get word of attacks or some type indication, we will take pre-emptive action as well to protect American forces to protect American lives,” the Pentagon chief told reporters.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\n SOURCE:
\n Al Jazeera and news agencies<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tensions between the United States and Iran have escalated dramatically after a top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani was killed on Friday in a US air attack on Baghdad International Airport. The Pentagon said US President Donald Trump ordered Soleimani’s “killing” after a group of Iraqi militia members and supporters attempted to storm the US…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spotlight_news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42192"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42192\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=42192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=42192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}