Less than 24 hours after Defense Secretary Mark Esper warned of possible preemptive action against Iran, a historic strike killed Quds Force leader Qassem Soleimani, Iranian proxy militia commander Abu Mahdi al Muhandis, and other Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officers. These individuals, and Soleimani in particular, had the blood of hundreds of American soldiers and thousands of innocent civilians on their hands.

This escalation occurred after Iranian proxy forces in Iraq attacked a U.S. base, killing one American, and the United States responded. This, in turn, led Iranian-backed forces, under the command of Soleimani, to attack the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. The exchange followed months of Iranian provocations against the U.S. and our regional allies.