Keys: What you must to know so far about the US attack in Iraq

EFE

Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Iran Revolutionary Guards Quds Force, and Abu Mahdi al Mohandes, vice-president of the Popular Mobilization Committee (Al-Hashd Al-Sha’abi), the Iran-backed militias in Iraq, were killed on January 3rd in a US bombing against the motorcade they were traveling in Bagdad.

US President, Donald Trump, personally ordered the attack and, afterward, tweeted a US flag.

Here, we explain what has happened in the Soleimani case and the consequences the US airstrike has had so far.

• Pentagon sources told CNN that Trump OK’d the operation on the morning of Thursday, January the 2nd, using drones.

• Qasem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al Mohandes died in a US bombing of the motorcade they were traveling on in Bagdad. The Committee said the vehicles were the target of an airstrike on the road of the international airport.

• The attack took place in the outskirts of Bagdad and left two VIP vehicles charred, an anonymous Bagdad airport source told Spanish news service EFE.

• Meanwhile, the US Embassy in Iraq requested that Americans leave immediately the country and recommended that they preferably do it by plane.

• After the fact, the supreme leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, stated that a “harsh revenge” awaited the “criminals” that killed Soleimani. In a statement, the supreme leader declared three days of national mourning in Iran.

• New York City Mayor, Bill de Blasio said he had coordinated with the New York Police Department commanders that they “stay vigilant” and protect key locations in the city in the event of any attempt by Iran or its terrorist allies to take reprisals against the United States.

• Several countries in the world, amongst them Russia, Turkey, Syria, France, and the European Union condemned the attack, while Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said the situation will have a great impact on oil prices.

• The conflict between the United States and Iran pushed the price of oil upwards so that the Brent benchmark crude oil for March delivery rose by 2.9% Friday.

• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also spoke out on the Irak attack, saying the world cannot afford another Persian Gulf War.