Recently released diplomatic cables dating from 2014-15 detail the extent of Iran's influence inside the Iraqi government, showing how Iranian intelligence officers have co-opted much of the Iraqi government's cabinet, infiltrated its military leadership, and even tapped into a network of sources once run by the CIA. In the 4-5 years since then, Iranian influence has only grown and, from an Israeli perspective, reached a 'red line' point where Iraq could be used as a staging ground for attacks on Israel.

Given this, and Trump's talk of there being "less and less reason" for the US to remain in the Middle East combined with the upcoming Iraqi parliament vote to officially demand the removal of US forces from the country, it's likely that the killing of Soleimani was a negotiated (by Trump) alternative to a relatively imminent, large-scale Israeli attack on Iranian assets in Iraq, and possibly Iran itself. Such an attack would have sparked a real war between Israel and Iran, which would inevitably have drawn in the US. This is, I propose, what Trump meant when he said that "we took action last night to stop a war."

In this scenario, public statements made by Trump administration officials that killing Soleimani was necessary to stop "significant strikes against Americans" in the region can be understood as necessary lies to cover up the truth: that rather than protecting its own immediate interests, the US government was acting to prevent Israel from doing something dangerously irrational that would threaten the lives of millions in the Middle East and beyond.

What US officials privately told their Iranian counterparts soon after the assassination fits this scenario. Rear-Admiral Ali Fadavi, deputy commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, told Iranian state television that "the Americans resorted to diplomatic measures" the very next morning. Fadavi said Washington asked Tehran to respond "in proportion." They "even said that, if you want to get revenge, get revenge in proportion to what we did" which makes the entire situation seem like something of a sordid geopolitical game. This evening, rockets were fired at the US 'green zone' in Baghdad. Perhaps that is Tehran's proportionate response.

• Libya's GNA officially requested military aid from Turkey
• Libya: Erdogan's power play and what it means to the tangled conflict - UPDATE
• Is Turkey supporting Daesh in LIbya? LNA General Haftar claims he has evidence
• Libya's elected government demands UN's usurper regime gone

• Juan Guaido's political future jeopardized by massive embezzlement scandal
• Venezuela prosecutors open probe into opposition leader Juan Guaido for 'high treason'
• Venezuelan traitor Guaidó asks US military for 'strategic planning' help to invade his own country
• US regime change specialist Abrams forced to admit failure of plot to put Venezuelan presidential pretender Guaido in power
• Busted or just stupid? Photos of Juan Guaido with members of notorious Colombian drug cartel

The assassination of Qassem Soleimani has opened a new phase for the whole region, the leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, has said, calling for attacks on US soldiers and military assets.

Iraqi resistance will not let a single US soldier stay in Iraq after the killing of the Iranian Quds force commander, Nasrallah said in a televised speech on Sunday.

© Unknown

The Hezbollah leader, however, warned against harming any American civilians, as such acts will only play into the hands of US President Donald Trump, adding that every US military asset and serviceman in the region is fair game.

"When the coffins of American soldiers and officers begin to be transported ... to the United States, Trump and his administration will realize that they have really lost the region and will lose the elections," Nasrallah said.

Expulsion of the US from the whole Middle East is a fair price for the murder of Soleimani and other officials, Nasrallah said, issuing a rather grim threat to the US military. The suicide bombers, who had forced America to leave before, are still there - and now they are greater in numbers, he added.

Avenging the deaths of Soleimani and other high-ranking Iranian and Iraqi military officials, including Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Force (PMF) militia, is the responsibility of not only Iran but of all its allies in the region. Nasrallah urged all the members of the so-called 'Resistance Axis' to make up their minds on how they will deal with the assassination.

Facing promises of retaliation for the killing of a popular Iranian general whose death he ordered personally, Donald Trump threatened in no uncertain terms to escalate the conflict further. He said that if Tehran fails to turn the other cheek, the US will hit 52 Iranian sites of great value. Hours later, the US president returned to Twitter to brag about the amount of money the US military has received for equipment under his watch.

Stocks of US defense contractors rose in the wake of the killing as investors predicted that there will be no shortage of US taxpayers' money going their way if, as Trump threatened, their products are headed for Iran.

US forces and allies will soon be forced out of the Persian Gulf waters, where they have been seeking to establish a foothold for years, says Iran's navy commander.

Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi said that in his view the United States has come to find itself with very little elbow room in the regional waters to advance its attempted objective of setting up a coalition to protect its interests. "We should force them out as soon as possible. God willing, this will happen and it is shaping up in various aspects already," said Khanzadi.

The interview was made before the US military conducted a vicious operation in Baghdad during the early hours of Friday, assassinating Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).

Khanzadi had said the United States had gone to considerable lengths to peel Russia and China away from the joint war games in the Sea of Oman and in the India Ocean in late December.

He said the presence of the US Navy and its allies, including the British, in the Persian Gulf is not a matter of concern to Iran.

"Each aircraft carrier dispatched to the region is deployed within 300 miles from the Iranian borders. Such massive equipment floats idly and this piles huge pressure on the Americans and the British," said Khanzadi. "Others do not wish to pay the cost for such a deceitful game. This is why no country is joining their coalition."

Saudi Arabia's Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) as well as other key Middle East stock exchanges were down on Sunday after the killing of Iran's top general triggered a new round of tensions between the US and Iran.

The TASI slumped around 2 percent and was below 8,230 points on Sunday morning. Shares of energy giant Saudi Aramco fell to the lowest level since its record IPO last month, trading at 34.55 riyals per share.

Other key equity markets in the region also fell sharply. The major stocks of the Dubai Financial Market were down more than three percent after losing nearly 85 points, while the Qatar Exchange Index slid nearly 2.1 percent and shares included in Kuwait's premier index fell more than four percent. The overall index of the 30 most highly capitalized and liquid stocks traded on the Egyptian Exchange also slumped, falling nearly 2.5 percent.

The drop comes as Washington and Tehran continued to exchange threats on Sunday.

Earlier, the US stock market was shaken by the consequences of the attack, finishing the first trading days of 2020 with the biggest losses in a month. On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 233.92 points or 0.8 percent, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite fell more than 0.7 percent and nearly 0.8 percent respectively.