How far? This is the question posed by the worrying escalation to which the United States and Iran have been engaged since the assassination on Friday by an American drone of General Soleimani. On the other side of the Atlantic, some media no longer hesitate to question the risks of a "third world war" while the mullahs' regime speaks of "war crimes". Proof that the death of General Soleimani marks a turning point in the confrontation that has taken place between the United States, its allies and Tehran since the American exit, in 2018, from the Iranian nuclear agreement of 2015.
On Sunday, the tension rose again by several notches. Faced with threats from President Trump to hit 52 Iranian sites - as many as the number of Americans held hostage at the US Embassy in Tehran in 1979 - Tehran promised a "military" response. A belligerent posture which seems to have the support of the people of the Islamic Republic. In the streets of the Iranian capital, the funeral of General Soleimani thus attracted such a massive crowd - "millions of people of the revolutionary people", according to the authorities - that the tribute ceremony had to be canceled.
In Iraq, the tension is at its height
The entire Iranian allied camp also has its gun on its feet. In Syria, Lebanon and Yemen, pro-Iranian factions threaten to attack American interests on their territory. The US military will "pay the price" for the assassination of General Soleimani, warned the Lebanese Hezbollah chief. "The just punishment will target the American military presence in the region: American military bases, military ships, every officer and soldier in the region," said the Shiite leader.
But it is of course in Iraq that the tension is at its height. The Hashd - a paramilitary coalition of mostly Shiite militias - called on its fighters to "stand by". The Hezbollah Brigades, the most radical faction of Hashd, demanded Iraqi soldiers to move "at least 1,000 meters" away from the sites where American soldiers are present.
Diplomatically, it is also the offensive. The Iraqi foreign ministry, after filing a complaint with the UN Security Council, summoned the American ambassador to denounce "violations of his sovereignty". And the Iraqi parliament has asked the government to "put an end to the presence of foreign troops" - especially American ones - in Iraq by starting with "withdrawing its request for help" addressed to the international community to fight the Islamic State group.
"We are preparing all kinds of responses"
Despite its indisputable military superiority, Washington seems to take these attacks, for the moment verbal and diplomatic, very seriously. "We believe there is a good chance that Iran will make a mistake and take the decision to attack some of our forces, our soldiers in Iraq or our soldiers in north-eastern Syria" said Mike Pompeo, the head of the American diplomacy. He added, threatening: "Iran would make a serious mistake if it attacked them, but we are preparing all kinds of responses. "
On the ground, the anti-jihadist coalition led by the United States announced Sunday that it was suspending the training of Iraqi forces and the fight against the Islamic State (IS) group. “We are now fully engaged in protecting Iraqi bases that host coalition troops. This limits our ability to conduct training with partners and support their operations against Daesh, so we have suspended these activities, "said the coalition. The President of the French Republic spoke on the phone with Donald Trump. Emmanuel Macron told him that priority should go to the pursuit of the action of the International Coalition against Daesh, with full respect for the sovereignty of Iraq.
Faced with the United States, Iran and its most direct allies, the Europeans, the Chinese and the Russians preferred to call for restraint. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who spoke with Emmanuel Macron on the phone, agreed with the French head of state to remain in "close contact" to "avoid another dangerous escalation of tensions". Saudi Arabia, an ally of the United States and Iran's regional rival, fears that it will be one of the targets of possible Iranian reprisals. And play, too, caution. In a telephone interview with the Iraqi president, Ryad thus wished to defuse the tensions. And claims not to have been consulted "about the American attack".
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VIDEO. Baghdad: Thousands of Iraqis Gathered for Soleimani Funeral