Qasem Soleimani, an Iranian major general, was assassinated by the United States via a drone strike at Baghdad International Airport on January 3, 2020. Soleimani was while he was on his way to meet Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi in Baghdad. Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force, was considered the second most powerful person, subordinate to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Five Iraqi nationals and four other Iranian nationals were also killed during Soleimani’s assassination, including the deputy chairman of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and commander of the Iran-backed Kata’ib Hezbollah militia, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. The incident took place during the 2019–2022 Persian Gulf crisis.
