The fallout from the killing of Iran’s top military leader — General Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force, a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization — has reached Wall Street, resulting in stocks falling more than 200 points and oil prices surging.
As reported by CNBC, the Dow Jones Industrial Average “plunged 212 points, or 0.8%,” Friday morning, while S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite likewise shrunk by 0.8%.
“Stocks fell sharply on Friday after the U.S. confirmed that an airstrike killed Iran’s top military commander, sending oil prices surging and hiking geopolitical concerns,” CNBC reports, citing expert predictions of a “volatile” market over the next week.
The most significant development is a surge in U.S. crude oil futures, which “shot up around 3.5% to $63.31 per barrel, raising concerns about an energy shock on the global economy,” according to CNBC. The climbing oil prices have impacted airline stocks, which “fell broadly on the threat of higher oil prices,” with United, American and Delta’s stocks all dropping more than 2%, the network notes.
The stock market shakeup comes amid reports of a strategic airstrike by a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone, which fired missiles onto a convoy leaving Baghdad International Airport early Friday. The main target of the attack was Soleimani, who the U.S. says is responsible for 17 percent of the deaths of U.S. soldiers during the Iraq War (2003-2011) and was “actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region.”
The strike targeting the Iranian military leader followed an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday orchestrated by Iran-backed militias and “approved” by Soleimani, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.
“General Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region,” the Defense Department revealed in a statement following the successful strike. “General Soleimani and his Quds Force were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members and the wounding of thousands more,” the statement continued. “He had orchestrated attacks on coalition bases in Iraq over the last several months – including the attack on December 27th – culminating in the death and wounding of additional American and Iraqi personnel. General Soleimani also approved the attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad that took place this week.”
The strike also killed top Iraqi paramilitary commander Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes, who headed the Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).
Amid the rapidly escalating tensions in the region, the U.S. State Department has instructed U.S. citizens in Iraq to evacuate the country “immediately” and has suspended consular operations at the U.S. Embassy.
“Due to heightened tensions in Iraq and the region, we urge U.S. citizens to depart Iraq immediately,” the State Department announced early Friday. “Due to Iranian-backed militia attacks at the U.S. Embassy compound, all consular operations are suspended. U.S. citizens should not approach the Embassy.”
#Iraq: Due to heightened tensions in Iraq and the region, we urge U.S. citizens to depart Iraq immediately. Due to Iranian-backed militia attacks at the U.S. Embassy compound, all consular operations are suspended. U.S. citizens should not approach the Embassy. pic.twitter.com/rdRce3Qr4a
— Travel – State Dept (@TravelGov) January 3, 2020
In a series of statements on social media Friday, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared Soleimani a “martyrdom” and vowed “severe revenge” on “the criminals” responsible for his death. “[Soleimani’s] efforts and path won’t be stopped by his martyrdom, by God’s Power, rather a severe revenge awaits the criminals who have stained their hands with his and the other martyrs’ blood last night,” Khamenei wrote (formatting adjusted). “Martyr Soleimani is an international figure of Resistance and all such people will seek revenge.”
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