The US strike in the early hours of January 3 that killed Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani has surprised many in the Middle East and beyond. A brazen attack, carried out without permission on the soil of a sovereign nation, it was more reminiscent of the covert operations of Israel's Mossad against its pro-Iranian rivals than an act a global leader with a great stake in the region should engage in.
The assassination of Soleimani is likely to further destabilise a region already rocked by nearly a decade of upheaval.
The full article originally appears in Al Jazeera English.