Cedars, February 2020

February 2020 8 OFF-CAMPUS Soleimani, Strikes and Stability How the United States’ assassination of a major general led to uproar in Iran and, eventually, uneasy peace By Lydia Switzer O n January 3, a United States airstrike assassinat- ed General Qasem Soleimani of Iran, beginning a chain reaction of retaliations. Today, however, there remains an uneasy peace. Opposing interests between the United States and Iran have led to decades of violence. The first two weeks of 2020 demonstrated a spike in the ongoing conflict between the two countries, both having significant influence in their re - spective regions and around the world. The story begins with a different airstrike: New Year’s Day in Iraq rang in with ongoing protests in response to a U.S. airstrike on Iraqi militia that killed 25. The protestors stormed the United States embassy in Baghdad, resulting in significant damage. As the Iraqi militia is backed by the Ira - nian government, President Trump (@realDonaldTrump) indicated on Twitter that he would hold Iran responsible: “...Iran will be held fully responsible for lives lost, or dam- age 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!” Three days after the protests began, another United States airstrike killed Qasem Soleimani, leader of the Islam- ic Revolutionary Guard Corps. As justification for Soleima - ni’s killing, the Trump administration cited an imminent attack that Soleimani was allegedly planning, which has yet to be corroborated. According to Dr. Glen Duerr, associate professor of International Studies at Cedarville University, the Unit- ed States’ foreign policy justification for Soleimani’s death was similar to that of Osama bin Laden in 2011. Iran is des - ignated by the United States as a state sponsor of terrorism, along with North Korea, Sudan and Syria. Though Soleima - ni was not, like Osama bin Laden, a member of a major ter - rorist group, Duerr believes that the United States used the classification as justification for a killing strike. “It [was] risky in a sense,” said Duerr. “[Soleimani] was so tied to the Iranian regime and was a general in the mili- tary ... it changes the ground game in the Middle East.” The worldwide response to Soleimani’s death was mixed. Thousands in Iran and Iraq gathered to mourn Soleimani’s death in an enormous funeral procession. Solei - mani was the second-most powerful man in Iran and a ma- jor facet of their government. Though it would be an over - step to say he was a national hero, most Iranians respected him. However, on social media, a video of Iraqis celebrating Soleimani’s death went viral, and various public officials in countries such as Yemen and Jordan also expressed their support for the killing of Soleimani. Duerr said this mixed response can be attributed to the dichotomy between Iran’s younger and older populations. Over 60 percent of Iran’s population is under 30 years old and played a major role in political protests in the past, such as the Green Movement. “I think a lot of [the youth] are like you and I. They want to live in a country where they can say what they want,” Duerr said. Just two days after the attack that killed Soleimani, Iran announced it would no longer comply by the rules of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), more commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal. This signifies that Iran will not be limited in nuclear production. Presi- dent Trump had pulled the United States out of the deal in May of 2018, calling it “one-sided.” Iran also swiftly responded to the US with a missile strike on bases in Iraq housing United States soldiers. “Iran wanted, for a domestic audience, to be able to say that they responded. And they did,” Duerr said. Although there were no casualties, President Trump announced that there would be further economic sanctions on Iran in retaliation for this attack. Trump also threatened to attack Iranian cultural sites, which the international community condemned as it would be a violation of inter- national law. These economic sanctions have caused many Iranians to “feel the pinch,” as Dr. Duerr put it. However, the effects of sanctions have been offset in some ways by the actions of the Obama administration in repaying money owed to Iran in the amount of 1.7 billion in unmarked dollars. On January 8, one of the missiles fired by Iran hit a Ukrainian passenger jet, killing all 176 people on board. Ira - nian officials did not fully accept responsibility until Janu - ary 11, where they explained that the plane had been flying over a military base and was mistaken for an attacking mis- sile. Photo by WikiMedia Common Map of Iran and each of its provinces.