Going into a new decade, rumors have spread that WWIII is going to break out between the United States and Iran, along with other countries involved. But, safe to say, those are just rumors, for now.

There has been tension between the United States and Iran for decades, but most recent tensions have risen since January 2, when the U.S. killed the Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani.  

President Donald Trump, when originally asked about the assasination of Soleimani, said that it had to be done because there was an “imminent threat.” According to CNN, when in the Oval Office, Trump never brought up the topic of the ‘imminent threat.’ Rather he talked about how he believes the job should’ve been carried out by past president Barack Obama or George W. Bush. 

During a briefing with the Senate, Trump administration officials couldn’t provide any details or any evidence of an ‘imminent threat’ due to its “confidentiality,” both members of the Democratic and Republican party walked away upset from the briefing.

Ultimately, Trump was given several options to handle the problems between the US and Iran, and he chose the killing of Soleimani.

This event devastated thousands of people and caused an uproar in Iran, with people wanting to fight back against the U.S. Due to this event, the Iranian government has lost the trust of troops in their country, so on January 5, the Iraqi parliament voted to remove all U.S. troops within their borders. 

On January 8, Iran targeted and shot missiles at American bases, Ayn al-Asad Airbase and Iraqi Kurdistan, but there were no casualties and few injuries. Along with this event, Iran fired  a missile that hit a Ukrainian airplane carrying 176 passengers, all of whom died.

Originally when questioned about the attack on the plane, Iran claimed they hadn’t shot it down. Later when presented with information and evidence from Canada, they acknowledged that they were the ones who shot down the plane, but they say the missilemissle was due to human error, and not meant as an attack.

According to CNN, Iranian president Rouhani, told the Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani that “if the U.S. responds to Iran’s recent military actions, they will receive a bigger and more dangerous response”. 

As of right now things such as these events have calmed down — some officials say that Iran is no longer an imminent threat because they were able to avenge Soleimani without provoking any further military action — but congress still questions the decision made by Trump and his administration, due to the fact that they failed “to give them an adequate briefing.”