News analysis

Iran likely to bide its time before hitting back at US

Real revenge may come much later, in form of hit at not just US but broader Western targets

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (seventh from right), leading a prayer as the new head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force Esmail Ghaani (fifth from right) joined in the prayer session over the caskets of Major-General Qasse
Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (seventh from right), leading a prayer as the new head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force Esmail Ghaani (fifth from right) joined in the prayer session over the caskets of Major-General Qassem Soleimani and others in Teheran yesterday. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
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The fallout from the American assassination of Iran's top general Qassem Soleimani continues to convulse the Middle East's entire strategic map.

For not only is Iran now back on the global agenda as a major international security challenge, but the reverberations from Major-General Soleimani's killing are also forcing other key international players to adjust their own policies in the region.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on January 07, 2020, with the headline Iran likely to bide its time before hitting back at US. Subscribe