Shortly after midnight, on January 3, 2020, a United States Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone unleashed a barrage of Hellfire missiles at a convoy leaving the Baghdad International Airport. The convoy was obliterated, along with the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, Qasem Soleimani. Soleimani had the infamous distinction of bearing direct responsibility for over 600 American deaths during the Iraq War, along with thousands more who were wounded by proxy forces under his command.
Soleimani’s death generated hysterical responses, both from members of the Iranian government, and from the American left. In the Senate, Democrats refused to support a measure approving the strike. Others, such as Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), referred to the strike as an unprovoked “act of war” against Iran. The media portrayal of American relations with Iran couldn’t be further from the truth. Since its inception in 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran has waged a four decade war against America and her allies, both openly and through proxy forces. At various points in time, it has been necessary for the United States to utilize force to deter further Iranian violence. The strike against Soleimani represents only the latest retaliatory measure in this long and bloody conflict.
After seizing power from the relatively progressive Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the mullahs wasted no time in declaring America to be their greatest enemy. Their hatred of the U.S. came to a head on November 4, 1979, as Iranian students stormed the American embassy in Tehran and seized fifty two hostages in retaliation for the U.S. providing cancer treatment for the ailing Shah. During their captivity, the hostages were subjected to beatings, theft, and psychological abuse. Tantamount to a declaration of war, the Hostage Crisis represented Iran’s first salvo in its forty year offensive against the U.S.
In 1982, the U.S. and several other nations intervened in the Lebanese Civil War to act as a peacekeeping force. In October 1983, two truck bombs were detonated against the American and French military barracks in Beirut, killing 241 American and 58 French personnel. The attack was carried out by a pair of Shia suicide bombers who were strongly suspected of involvement with Hezbollah and Iran. In 2004, a monument was erected in Tehran to commemorate the two bombers as “martyrs.” A mere five years later, on April 14, 1988, the American frigate Samuel B. Roberts struck a mine in the Persian Gulf, injuring several sailors and severely damaging the ship. Serial numbers on unexploded mines proximal to the incident area were traced back to the Iranian mine laying vessel Iran Ajr. After nearly ten years of unanswered Iranian aggression, America would finally retaliate.
On April 18, 1988, the United States launched Operation Praying Mantis. Over the course of the operation, American forces sank or damaged half of Iran’s navy and destroyed two oil platforms. After the U.S. pulled back its forces, Iran opted not to pursue further action. In one fell swoop, the United States had effectively neutralized Iran’s naval capabilities, while escaping any meaningful retaliation from the Iranian regime.
In the decades after Praying Mantis, the Iranian regime resorted to more subversive measures in its conflict with the U.S. Chief among these was the use of Shia proxy groups during the Iraq War. Among those facilitating the attacks by these proxy groups was General Soleimani. Over the next few years, Iran’s activities grew increasingly bold, as it began clawing its way toward a nuclear arsenal, and taking 10 American sailors into captivity at gunpoint met with little response. If anything, like a misbehaving child, Iran was incentivized to continue its aggression as a result of a lack of tangible corrective action. That lack of enforcement abruptly changed with the push of a button on January 3.
The past four decades of American relations with Iran have provided some important lessons. Short of a regime change or a full-blown war, Iran will continue its aggression. However, it is also clear that forceful retaliation for overt acts of war on the part of Iran are extremely effective at lessening Iranian attacks, and may help prevent additional American casualties. In the wake of Praying Mantis, Iran was forced to count its losses and put an end to its mining operations. So too will the Soleimani strike serve as a warning to those in the regime who would seek to harm American assets. Until the day when the Islamic Theocracy finally crumbles under the growing protests of its citizens, those involved in America’s foreign policy would be wise to pay heed to the past. If they are to limit Iran’s attempts to assert its dominance in the Middle East, it is a necessity for military strategists to be prepared to utilize America’s offensive might if the opportunity demands it.