it's WWIII time, it's been nice knowing' y'all

1. Why was General Soleimani an important target for the airstrike?
General Soleimani led Iranian covert operations and intelligence and was one of the country’s most revered military leaders. 

2. How did the Department of Defense (the Pentagon) justify this attack?
The Pentagon says he was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region.

3. How have Iran's leaders responded to the US attack?
Iran went into mourning and the country's supreme leader has vowed revenge.

4. How has President Trump responded to Iran's promises of "revenge"?Trump said the US would attack 52 sites in Iran should the country retaliate for the killing of Qassem Soleimani.

5. Why have some said that Trump's response would be considered a war crime?

According to international law, "Targeting cultural sites is a war crime." Trump is deliberately planning that.

6. What impact has this attack on Iran's leadership had on normal Iranian people?

The citizens united across the political spectrum as they undergo three days of national mourning to commemorate the leader deemed a hero. There is now instability and fear in the country about nuclear war.

7. How has the government of Iraq responded to the US attacks on Iranian leadership?
They sent a series of provocative acts, from attacking container ships in the Persian Gulf to drone strikes on Saudi oil facilities. They also struck directly at American assets, last week killing a US contractor near Kirkuk, which in turn lead to US strikes on Iranian militias and then violent protests at the US embassy in Baghdad led by those Iranian-backed militias.

8. What was the 2015 Nuclear deal between Iran and the Obama Administration? 
The deal in the Obama-era was between the US, Iran, Britain, France, Russia, China, Germany and the European Union. The agreement put tight restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program and in return, eased some international sanctions against the country.

9. What did President Trump do to the Iranian government because he disagreed with the deal?

He withdrew the US from the agreement in 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Iran’s oil sector. The administration continued to impose more sanctions targeting Iran’s ability to trade and acquire currency and its oil exports in efforts to pressure Iran to negotiate what it said would be a new, better nuclear deal.

10. Which parts of the deal does Iran say it will stop following?They have been stockpiling more low-enriched uranium than the agreement allows. Also they want no limitation in the number of centrifuges; therefore Iran’s nuclear program will have no limitations in production including enrichment capacity and percentage and number of enriched uranium and research and expansion.”

11. Which parts of the deal does Iran say it will continue to follow?
Iran will continue to allow the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the international nuclear watchdog organization, to review its nuclear research, and would be willing to rejoin the agreement if sanctions against it are removed.