World War III trends on twitter after US strike kills Iran's General

 

At the direction of President Donald Trump, the U.S. military took action to protect U.S. personnel abroad by killing General Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force, a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. For Iran, he (General Soleimani) was considered a popular public figure only 2nd to their Supreme Leader (military) Ali Khamenei.

According to US intelligence, General Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region. General Soleimani and his Quds Force were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members and the wounding of thousands more. He had orchestrated attacks on coalition bases in Iraq over the last several months – including the attack on December 27th – culminating in the death and wounding of additional American and Iraqi personnel. General Soleimani also approved the attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad that took place this week.

Many of Trump’s political rivals publicly criticise this move,

“He (General Soleimani) deserved to be brought to justice for his crimes against American troops and thousands of innocents throughout the region. He supported terror and sowed chaos. None of that negates the fact that this is a hugely escalatory move in an already dangerous region,”

                                                -Joe Biden, Frontrunner for 2020 democratic candidacy

“Soleimani was a murderer, responsible for the deaths of thousands, including hundreds of Americans. But this reckless move escalates the situation with Iran and increases the likelihood of more deaths and new Middle East conflict. Our priority must be to avoid another costly war.”

                                  -Elizabeth Warren, Senator and Democratic presidential candidate

The World War Three comparison began as people drew parallels between the death of General Soleimani and killing of Archduke Franz Ferdinand 105 years ago. He was the heir to the Austro-Hungarian empire. Following the assassination, countries scrambled to take sides and it started off a chain of events which led to World War One. Foreign issues can be unpredictable, especially with strong characters in leadership positions, but Iran has vowed to retaliate, which has sparked concerns of further mass violence.

Iran is likely to retaliate against both the US and its allies, mainly Israel. This could lead to many countries taking separate sides, With Russia and many middle eastern countries facing of against any US allies. Russia has also publicly condemned this move calling it “worst case scenario”. Russia and Iran have been key allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during the country's civil war. The two countries, together with China held joint naval drills at the end of last month in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Oman.

The European powers have also condemned the strike with many of them vowing to do their utmost to de-escalate any conflict. The long-term consequences of this like in the case of Archduke Ferdinand may be seen in the coming months.