The New Year began with an attack on the United States embassy in Baghdad on New Year’s Eve by protestors opposing US airstrikes against an Iranian-backed militia operating in Iraq and Syria, which was quickly followed by a US drone strike near the Baghdad International Airport targeting Islamic Revolutionary Guard Major General Qasem Soleimani. The assassination of the Iranian general resulted in the Iraqi Parliament passing a resolution to expel the US military from the country as well as Iranian missile attacks on US bases in Iraq. The tension has spilled into the civilian sphere, as well: the US denied a visa for Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to attend a meeting of the United Nations Security Council regarding the conflict, and a Ukrainian Airlines flight from Tehran was mistakenly shot down by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard in its anticipation of reprisal from the US. The Iranian government further announced its plans to “discard” the component of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (also referred to as the Iran Deal) which places limits on the number of centrifuges it uses in the production of nuclear power, to the ire of the remaining supporters of the deal following the US’s abrupt and unilateral exit in May 2018. Amidst the sudden escalation of the situation between Iran and the US, China and Russia boldly vetoed a resolution condemning the attack on the US embassy in the wake of the US’s airstrike. Read the full Policy Alert here.