After a U.S. drone strike left General Soleimani dead at an airport in Baghdad on Jan. 3, the Iranian supreme leader vowed “severe revenge” in retaliation. The attack on Gen. Soleimani was carried out after he was suspected of planning future attacks on the U.S. Soleimani was also suspected of helping plan a protest that turned violent on a U.S. embassy in Iraq.
After Soleimani’s death, Iranians mourned him for three days and then decided to strike. On Jan. 7, the Iranian military conducted a ballistic missile attack that was targeted at two military bases located in Iraq. The bases that were attacked held American troops that were stationed there. The time of the strike was believed to be symbolic because it accrued around the same time the U.S. launched their attack on Soleimani.
In the hours following the strike, NATO released an email stating that no U.S. casualties were reported as a result of the attack. President Trump stated that thanks to an early warning system, Americans were prepared for the attack.