A BUSY WEEK FOR IRAN AND AMERICA

Within this week alone the world has been swept with a number of sudden and worrying incidents, from the assassination of one of Iran's top men, to the tragic loss of 176 lives in a plane crash. Tensions between America and Iran have been present for quite some time now as they share a long history of nuclear deals and hostages. But as we begin the start of a new decade things are beginning to escalate out of control quite rapidly. Social media has blown up in response to this latest feud, everyone tweeting about a potential 'WW3' that journalist Mehdi Hassan says would make Iraq look like 'a walk in the park.'



Assassination of Qasem Soleimani

The first thing that happened in this whirlwind of events was Donald Trump's order to kill the leader of Al Quds military force Qasem Soliemani, despite his predecessors Bush and Obama deciding against it when the idea was proposed to them as they viewed it as being 'too risky.' Al Quds which is a powerful military force in Iran acting outside of the country most of the time, is considered to be a terrorist organisation by the US and many of her allies. The man in charge of that therefore is also considered a terrorist and tyrant, as many cheered at the news of his death. The US claim him to be directly involved with ISIS, whilst Vice President Mike Pence sent out a tweet claiming Soleimani and Iran helped 10 out of the 12 hijackers 9/11 hijackers, even though there were actually 19 hijackers altogether. In addition, the official 9/11 report states 'The commission found no evidence that Iran was aware of the planning for what later became the 9/11 attack.' So whose facts needs to be checked?

The assassination took place on Friday 3rd January 2020 in Iraq, just as we enter the new year. A drone hit the convoy that had Qassem Soliemani in it in Iraq. Also killed who was with Soliemani at the time was Abu Mahdi al Muhandis: a prominent Iraqi politician and military leader. Footage shows the cars being completely obliterated and shows several people attempting to escape from the situation. Democratic senator Chris Murphy said: this is the equivalent of Iran killing the secretary of defence.' Once Soleimanis body had been identified, he was taken back to his home town Kerman where the funeral was held. It is estimated that tens of thousands of Iranians came out on the day to mourn and grieve over what they viewed as a hero and now martyr. Many sources state that 56 people died at the huge outside funeral, due to a stampede, whilst around 200 people have been injured.



Iran in response launch missiles on US bases in Iraq

Days later, Iran took their promised revenge by launching missiles on two US bases in Iraq, Baghdad. Whilst Iranian president Hassan Rouhani says 'they have made a tragic mistake. They will see that more difficult days await them,' and not soon after news of the 15 missiles targeting US bases was announced. Donald Trump reacts in his favourite way by tweeting 'All is well!'
It seems that there have been no casualties, yet Iran claim 80 American lives have been lost. Evidence for this is lacking. Trump also threatened on twitter to target 52 cultural sites of Iran, one for each of the American hostages taken by Iran in 1979.



176 die in plane crash in Iran

Then not soon after, a plane setting off from Iran heading to Ukraine, crashed minutes after taking off, not even managing to leave the country. All 176 passengers have died, leaving no survivors behind. Most of the passengers were dual identity Iranian Canadians who were travelling back to Canada after their visit to the homeland, but there were also Brits, Afghans and Ukrainians abroad. In wake of the incident, other airlines like Lufthansa and Air France have temporarily suspended flights to Iran until the situation calms down with other airlines changing their routes to avoid potential danger.

Also aboard the plane was Iranian Canadian Sheyda Shadkoo, who had taken a few weeks off from work to visit her family in Iran. She was returning to Canada, but before the flight, her husband tells CNN she was worried about the tensions between America and Iran, and had doubts about getting on the plane. She ended up ignoring her fears and boarded the plane which was only in the air for a few minutes. Her husband who had reassured her that everything would be fine, waited for her in Canada when he got the news of her death. There was also a newly wed couple on board who had just tied the knot together in Iran amongst their family and friends, waiting to embark on a journey together.



Other countries blame Iran for plane crash

The US, Canada and UK have pointed the finger at Iran for this tragic loss. At first Iran denied all allegations but have just recently taken responsibility, saying they 'unintentionally' shot down the plane. The Iranian ambassador to the UK retracts his earlier statement of defending his country against the then allegation. Canada are plunging into a full investigation of the plane crash Trudea saying Canada 'will not rest until we get answers,' whilst Ukraine expect an apology from Iran.



US impose new sanctions on Iran

Yesterday, on Friday 10th of January, exactly a week after the assassination of Soleimani which sparked this upheaval, the Trump administration imposed fresh sanctions on their enemy, which target their steel and manufacturing industry. According to AlJazeera: 'The new measures are aimed at cracking down on Iran's few remaining sources of export revenue and squeezing the nation's economy to force it's leaders back into negotiations for a new nuclear agreement.'



As each minute goes by, new revelations about the events that have already taken place unravel, from a variety of sources. Many argue that this has been done by Trump to divert the attention from his current impeachment for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, and also gain more support from Americans for the upcoming elections.

Whilst angry Iranians chant 'Death to America' in the bustling streets of Tehran, Iranians in America face discrimination and hatred because of the actions of their country. The prospect of a war according to many academics seems unlikely, as Trump made it apparent in his latest speech that military action will not be pursued. However, the news of the sanctions and nuclear deal we are sure to hear about in the next few days will no doubt create a new layer of fresh wounds and problems, not just for those in Iran and America, but potentially for the entire world.