The killing of a top commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard in a targeted strike by the United States set off a cascade of criticism, tough talk and jitters, extending from the halls of Congress and Twitter to the Middle East and the oil futures market.
The commander, Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, died early Friday in a bombing attack at the Baghdad International Airport, the Pentagon said.
President Trump punctuated the significant military action by posting an image of the American flag on Twitter without any text.
Democrats on Capitol Hill criticized the way the bombing had been carried out on General Suleimani, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards’ elite Quds Force who was believed to be responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American soldiers during the Iraq War and for hostile Iranian activities throughout the Middle East.
“The question is this — as reports suggest, did America just assassinate, without any congressional authorization, the second most powerful person in Iran, knowingly setting off a potential massive regional war?” Senator Christopher S. Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut and a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, wrote on Twitter.
Representative Lee M. Zeldin, Republican of New York and an Army veteran who served in Iraq, said on Twitter that the killing was more than justified.
“The days of rolling US senior leaders at the negotiating table & killing US soldiers on the battlefield w/impunity are over,” Mr. Zeldin wrote, adding that the strike was “very necessary justice served.”
General Suleimani’s death drew some comparisons to the 2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden, but others dismissed comparisons. Some of Mr. Trump’s critics warned of reprisals, including Ned Price, a special assistant and National Security Council spokesman under former President Barack Obama.
“Reasonable people can disagree on the wisdom, in principle, of targeting Soleimani,” Mr. Price wrote on Twitter. “But no one should be under any illusion that the Trump admin is prepared to handle the backlash that will follow if this is true. This is a network that has the region wired and cells in the West.”
Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. said in a statement Thursday night from the presidential campaign trail that no American would mourn General Suleimani, who supported terror and sowed chaos. But Mr. Biden questioned the wisdom of the strike, which he called “hugely escalatory.”
“President Trump just tossed a stick of dynamite into a tinderbox, and he owes the American people an explanation of the strategy and plan to keep safe our troops and embassy personnel, our people and our interests, both here at home and abroad, and our partners throughout the region and beyond,” Mr. Biden said.
Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, commended Mr. Trump on Twitter and said that the response was warranted after Iran-backed protesters attacked the United States embassy in Baghdad this week.
“If Iran continues to attack America and our allies, they should pay the heaviest of prices, which includes the destruction of their oil refineries,” Mr. Graham wrote.
Oil prices on the futures markets immediately went up on news of the rising tensions between the United States and Iran.
Aimee Ortiz and Matthew Sedacca contributed reporting.