WHY AMERICA KILLED IRANIAN GENERAL QUASEEM SOLEIMANI BY AIR STRIKE

GENERAL QUASEEM SOLEIMANI KILLED IN AMERICA AIR STRIKE

AIR ATTACK BY AMERICA ON IRAN

• General Qassem Soleimani, a powerful commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards and the head of its military abroad known as the Quds Force, was killed in a US drone strike in Iraq ordered by President Donald Trump, the Pentagon announced on Friday, dramatically escalating tensions in the strategic Gulf region. The strike also killed the deputy chief of Iraq's powerful Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force.
• As the leader of the foreign arm of Iran's army, Soleimani was instrumental in the spread of Iranian influence in the Middle East. He also played a key role in the fighting in Syria (shoring up support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad) and Iraq (helping armed groups defeat the Islamic State) as well as in strengtheningan's ties with Hezbollah in Lebanon and partnering with the Houthis to take on Saudi Arabia in Yemen. Soleimani was a popular figure in Iran and seen as a possible presidential candidate.
• The strike comes days after Trump threatened Tehran after Iraqi supporters of pro-Iranian regime factions laid siege to the US embassy in Baghdad (and comparisons were made with the humiliating seizure of the US embassy in Tehran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution), following deadly American air strikes on a hardline Hashed faction. The Pentagon alleged that the strike was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans. Soleimani's killing is a big blow for Iran in its geopolitical conflict with the US and its allies.
• Iranian President Hasan Rouhani said his country will take revenge. Iran's foreign minister called the killing an "extremely dangerous and foolish escalation." Ties between the US and Iran have deteriorated since Washington pulled out of the landmark nuclear deal with Tehran in 2018. It then reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran, aiming to choke its oil exports.
•  Crude oil prices went up by over 4% and stock markets across the world crashed on expectations of Iranian retaliation against US and Israeli targets. The Indian rupee depreciated by 40 paise to 71.77 against the dollar in early trade on Friday weighed by the spike in crude oil prices and Sensex Tumbled 162 points. Any spike in oil prices will hurt India as it imports about 84% of its oil requirements. The risk insurance for Indian companies operating in the region is also likely to go up in the long term.