The targeted killing of Major General Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, in an US airstrike at Baghdad's international airport early on Friday has received the attention of the international media. The reactions range from a focus on the personality of the dead man to the larger volatile situation in Iraq and the broader repercussions on US-Iran ties.

Describing Soleimani as “once-shadowy figure” with “celebrity status” among Iranian hardliner conservatives, the New York Times report said, “The general, a once-shadowy figure who enjoyed celebrity status among the hard-line conservatives in Iran, was a figure of intense interest to people both inside and outside the country. It is not just that he was in charge of Iranian intelligence gathering and covert military operations, and regarded as one of its most cunning and autonomous military figures. He was also believed to be very close to the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — and seen as a potential future leader of Iran.”

British newspaper The Guardian’s article focused on the potential consequences of US action and Iran’s response.

“Suleimani’s death leaves Iraq and the region on the brink of a new upsurge in violence, with Trump’s and Khamenei’s moves and counter-moves hard to predict. Trump ordered the strike at a time when the US Congress was in recess, and the White House framed the action as an act of self-defence in the context of counter-terror operations. But Democrats and perhaps some Republicans in Congress will see it as a usurpation of the legislature’s authority to decide matters of war and peace.”

While focusing on possible Iranian reaction, CNN also said that the US action is indicative of US President Donald Trump’s assertion and confidence in his use of American military power.

“The wild card now is: How will the Iranians react? In recent months they have carried out strikes that seemed designed to harass the United States and her allies, but not to provoke an all-out shooting war… In June the Iranians shot down an American surveillance drone. At first, military action seemed probable, but Trump pulled back airstrikes on Iranian targets saying it wasn't a "proportionate" response to the unmanned drone that was brought down.

“Thursday's strike against Soleimani suggests that President Trump is increasingly confident in his use of American military power,” the CNN report noted.

French news website France 24 focused on waning US influence in Iraq compared to Iran’s growing clout in Baghdad, while reporting on the incident. The website’s article said, “The US had expressed increasing frustration with the escalating rocket attacks on its 5,200 troops in Iraq and on its embassy in Baghdad over the past two months… US forces led the 2003 invasion against then-dictator Saddam Hussein and Washington has worked closely with Iraqi officials and commanders since then… But its influence has waned compared with that of Iran, which carefully crafted personal ties with Iraqi politicians and armed factions, even during Saddam's reign… Soleimani was the prime example, sweeping into Baghdad regularly to hold a meeting with top Iraqi officials during times of turmoil.”

The US-based news website Politico wrote in an article that President Trump could get “embroiled in a politically risk confrontation.”

“President Donald Trump’s killing of one of Iran’s top military commanders means the elimination of a dangerous U.S. foe – but it also represents a risky escalation in a volatile feud that could backfire on U.S. personnel and allies in the Middle East and beyond… Trump has said repeatedly that he doesn’t want to engage in a new war in the Middle East. But the possibility that Iran will feel compelled to respond with escalatory actions of its own could embroil the president in a politically risky confrontation in the middle of an election year,” the article said.

Doha-based al Jazeera said that US pressure against Iran is not working.

“More than a year after its implementation, it is now clear that the US's maximum pressure policy against Iran is not working. Iran's political, military and religious leadership does not appear to be buckling under US economic pressure. Iran will not be the first state to withstand sanctions.”

Another British news website Independent said, “The targeted killing of Iranian Maj-Gen Qassem Soleimani by US forces represents just the latest escalation in Donald Trump's long-running campaign to contrast himself with his predecessor by taking an increasingly aggressive posture towards Tehran."