Last Thursday, the New York Times reported that Maj. Gen. Qassim Soleimani, commander of Iran’s Quds Force, was killed by a U.S. drone strike shortly after leaving the Baghdad Airport on January 3rd. His death came days after thousands of Iranian protesters attacked the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad’s Green Zone and a week after a rocket attack killed an American civilian contractor at a nearby Iraqi military base.

With tensions escalating between the U.S. and Iran prior to last weeks events — Iran’s hostility in international waters in response to American sanctions and their destruction of an American drone last June — the recent attacks against American nationals provided President Trump more than enough evidence to justify the killing of Gen. Soleimani.

In an official statement by the Department of Defense published on January 2nd, the Pentagon explained,

“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. 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 number of America casualties at the hand of Iranian forces referred to by the DOD was declassified last April during a press briefing by the State Department. U.S. Representative for Iran, Brian Hook, explained that under the leadership of Gen. Soleimani, Iran was responsible for the death of more than 608 American troops or at least 17% of American casualties between 2003 and 2011.

While this may be seen as a victory for many who support the president, the resulting fallout between the U.S. and Iran is still unknown. Writing at Time, David French of The Dispatch explains that while Trump was “legally and morally justified” in directing the killing of Gen. Soleimani, it does not make the decision “wise.” He writes,

“Both the Trump administration and the Iranian regime are approaching the crisis from a position of relative strategic weakness. While the U.S. military is unquestionably the dominant military force in the world, it has deployed a fraction of the combat power to the Middle East than was present during the height of the Iraq War, and the American people have little appetite for a new war with an adversary far more deadly and capable than Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. Moreover, Trump himself is rightfully deeply-distrusted by a majority of the American people (constant lying has consequences) and justifiably seen as erratic and impulsive.”

Yashar Ali of New York Magazine explained in a series of tweets the magnitude of Gen. Soleimani’s death and the resulting ramifications for the U.S. moving forward:

Despite criticism from many Democrats and those in the news media, President Trump has shown no signs of letting up, stating, “They attacked us, & we hit back. If they attack again, which I would strongly advise them not to do, we will hit them harder than they have ever been hit before!”