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U.S. kills Qassem Suleimani
by Tony Badran
January 3, 2020

…Seemingly immune from US retaliation, Soleimani spent the Obama years strutting around Iraq and Syria like a peacock in 70’s style turtleneck sweaters and an array of tailored military style jackets like an IRGC version of Al Pacino in Scarface, while garnering admiring magazine profiles. This nauseating treatment started at the top. Under President Obama, the US was realigning with Iran, which meant providing its regime with billions of dollars, some of it hand-delivered by US officials in the form of large pallets of cash. READ MORE

NATIONAL INTEREST Ilan Berman: The Real Start Of “Maximum Pressure” Against Iran The targeting of Soleimani – which followed on the heels of U.S. military strikes on multiple facilities in Iraq operated by Kataib Hezbollah, a key Iranian regional proxy – has ushered in a qualitatively new phase in the Trump administration’s confrontation with Iran. Chances are, it will be one punctuated by heightened hostilities.