Timeline: Soleimani strike caps week of escalation

By James Reinl

LONDON (AA) - The United States airstrike that killed a top Iranian military chief on Friday came at the end of a week of steadily escalating tensions between long-standing enemies Washington and Tehran.

Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps' elite Quds Force who had orchestrated Tehran's regional operations, was killed early Friday morning in a U.S. airstrike outside of an airport in Iraq’s capital, Baghdad.

The targeted hit marked a major spike in tensions between the U.S. and Iran, which have been steadily worsening since President Donald Trump in 2018 unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from the nuclear pact world powers struck with Tehran.

An assassination that is already being seen as a pivotal geopolitical moment followed a series of incidents in which Washington and Tehran appeared to draw ever closer to a military confrontation that could have devastating effects across the region.

In a televised address, Trump said the U.S. killed Soleimani to stop a war, not start one, adding that the slain commander had been planning "imminent and sinister attacks on American diplomats and military personnel."

Here is the timeline of key events that have unfolded in recent days.

Friday, December 27: Kirkuk rocket attack

A contractor with the U.S. Department of Defense was killed in a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base in Kirkuk, in northeastern Iraq. The military base also hosted U.S. and coalition forces; several U.S. and Iraqi service members were also injured in the attack.

The U.S. blamed Kataib Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militia, for the assault, which saw as many as 30 rockets hit the facility, according to several media reports. The militia later denied responsibility for the strikes.

Sunday, December 29: U.S. hits Kataib Hezbollah targets

The U.S. carried out airstrikes on five Kataib Hezbollah facilities, killing some 25 fighters, according to the Pentagon and media reports. The strikes were the first major attack by the U.S. on an Iran-linked group since the withdrawal of troops from Iraq in 2011.

In a statement, Jonathan Hoffman, Assistant to the Secretary of Defense, said Washington “will not be deterred from exercising its right of self-defense” and urged Iran and the militias to stop attacking U.S. and coalition forces.

Tuesday, December 31: US Embassy in Baghdad stormed.

The U.S. embassy in Baghdad was stormed by a large group of angry protesters on Tuesday, resulting in a two-day face-off between U.S. security forces and the throngs of rock-hurling demonstrators.

The Pentagon said Soleimani was behind the embassy raid.

Wednesday, January 1: Embassy protestors dispersed.

After deploying additional security forces at the Baghdad embassy, U.S. forces fired tear gas on the crowd of protestors. Within hours, most of the demonstrators had withdrawn from the compound.

Thursday, January 2: U.S. moots “preemptive” strikes

Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Thursday said the U.S. was prepared to take “preemptive” military action to prevent any future attacks on U.S. forces in the region.

Esper said intelligence and military chiefs could see signs that Iran and Iranian-aligned militant groups could be readying to launch more strikes against American forces and installations across the turbulent region.

*Servet Gunerigok in Washington contributed to the story