US lobs a grenade into a box of fireworks

Washington and Tehran may consider their next moves after drone kills top Iranian general, but restraint is the likeliest casualty

The long-rumbling US-Iran crisis has moved to a new and extremely febrile phase, after the US took out General Qassem Soleimani, Iran’s top commander in Iraq, in a targeted attack at Baghdad airport.  For months, tension has been high in the Mid-East Gulf—with attacks on shipping, on Saudi oil facilities and on other infrastructure. Iraq, where both the US and Iran have strong interests and strong allies, has been a particular focus in recent weeks. Against the background of a serious domestic political crisis, Iran-back militias attacked US facilities in the country, which appears to have sparked the fierce American response.  While the US and Iran had previously been careful to prevent mat