The new decade began with new tensions flaring up in the Middle East, after the US killed top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad, prompting Tehran to launch a missile attack against American targets in Iraq.

Donald Trump stated that he ordered the assassination of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani because of an as-yet-unspecified “imminent” threat to the US, including four American embassies. The existence of such a threat could give Trump legal justification for the attack and avoid an international and domestic backlash.

After the killing of top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani and his associates in Baghdad in a drone attack, tensions between Tehran and Washington flared up. Iran responded to the assassination with strikes on Iraqi bases, housing US troops, which left 11 Americans injured, as a spokesman for US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed.

Earlier this day, the Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed that Libyan National Army (LNA) leader Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar had left Moscow without signing a ceasefire agreement with the head of the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) Fayez al-Sarraj.

Last week, Iran launched a slew of ballistic missiles on American forces at the Ayn Al-Asad Air Base and a facility in Erbil in Iraq in retaliation for a US drone strike that killed a top Iranian general on 3 January.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US President Donald Trump approved the assassination of Iranian Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani seven months ago, NBC News reported on Monday, citing five current and former senior administration officials.

US President Donald Trump has tweeted that he and his administration were monitoring Saturday's protests in Iran and expressed support for participants in rallies sparked by Tehran’s unintentional downing of a Ukrainian jet amidst the spiralling US-Iran tensions. Trump followed up with a tweet in the Persian language that carried the same message.

Several major economic powers earlier embarked on preventive measures in the event Iran closes the Strait of Hormuz - a critical seaborne oil export choke point between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran – amidst escalating tension between Washington and Tehran in the wake of the US assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.

Wednesday's Iranian missile attack on US military forces at the Ayn Al-Asad Air Base and a facility in Erbil in Iraq came in response to an American drone strike that killed a top Iranian general earlier this month.

US President Donald Trump in an interview with Fox News said that top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani was plotting attacks on four American embassies in the Middle East region before being assassinated by US forces.

The additional economic pressure comes amid brewing tensions between Iran and the United States. Iran targeted the US Ayn Al-Asad Air Base, as well as a US-led coalition headquarters, in response to the assassination of Iranian top commander Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a US airstrike.

Following the assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in a US drone strike last week and the ensuing Iranian retaliation, the Iraqi Parliament decided that foreign troops are no longer welcome in the country.

Following Donald Trump's address to the nation, international observers weighed up Iran's retaliation strike and the US' apparent decision to de-escalate, while at the same time offering to adopt a "wait-and-see" approach to the simmering Middle Eastern crisis.

Did the White House have any information about the time that Iran would launch a missile attack on US military facilities in Erbil and the Ayn al-Asad Air Base in Iraq, where US troops are housed, in response to the assassination by Washington of Iran's elite Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani?

The day before, US President Donald Trump averted fears of World War 3 following Iran's missile attack on US targets in Iraq, pledging to introduce another round of anti-Iranian sanctions instead.

US-Iran relations recently hit a new low following the killing of top Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani by the US and Tehran's subsequent missile strike targeting American forces stationed at military bases in Iraq.

Iran launched a missile strike on US positions in Iraq in retaliation for the assassination of its IRGC General Qasem Soleimani. According to US statements, this attack didn't result in any casualties and only caused minor damage to American bases.

Tehran launched a missile strike on military facilities in Erbil and the Ayn al-Asad Air Base in Iraq where US forces are housed in the early hour of 8 January in response to Washington's assassination of elite Iranian Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani. Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei has called the attack a “slap” in America’s face.

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump downgraded World War 3 fears via a televised address to the nation following Iranian ballistic missile attacks on US forces stationed at military bases in Iraq.

Qasem Soleimani's death became the trigger for the further escalation of tensions between Washington and Tehran, say international observers. According to them, although neither side wants to go to war, the risk of miscalculation and falling into the trap of an all-out armed conflict is high.