Iranian Major Gen. Qassem Soleimani was assassinated in 2020.

President Donald Trump ordered the assassination of Soleimani by drone attack, near the Baghdad airport.

Soleimani was commander of the Revolutionary Guard Corps, and reported to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. While he was deemed a terrorist in the US, he was lauded in Iran.

After his death, tensions between the two countries reached a fever pitch. Iran promised revenge. Khamenei said the goal was to get the US to leave the Middle East. It launched an airstrike on two US-occupied bases in Iraq, but no one was injured. The US did not retaliate with more military strikes, but the conflict is still simmering.