general hurtling, dexter filkins, i don't know if you just heard what he was saying, that this seems like a very thought-out response and perhaps in response largely to domestic pressures within iran, for some sort of response, given all the other options at the disposal of iran. >> i agree completely with that, anderson. we're talking about not only the timing of the attack, which appears to have coincided with the same time that soleimani was attacked, with the drone strike, that it's messaging towards the iranian people, saying that we pride ourselves on countering any kind of actions by the great satan. and then the third message, which i think is just as important, is it's done on iraqi soil. it pulls them into this fray. iran and iraq have not had a history of great relationships. that i have be they've been trying to pull together a little bit closer more lately. there have been some dynamics involved in that. but to strike a u.s. base on iraqi soil is sending not only a message to the united states, but to iraq as well, to stay out of this proxy war, because if you're succeed

here to help us sort through it all, dexter filkins of "the new yorker" has reported extensively on ther years and cnn global affairs analyst jason rezaian who was posted in iran until his arrest in 2014. he writes about his ordeal in his book "prisoner: 544 days in an iranian prison. dexter, when we talked earlier in the eig8:00 hour, when you l at the weapons used, the targets, the other options that they had at their disposal that were not used, that this was in large part for political domestic reasons in iran, do you still feel that way? >> yeah. we're reading tea leaves. >> right. >> so we're speculating a bit. but the tea leaves we have suggest that this was done it's kind of theater, and it was done for the iranian people. and look, we hit them back. we took action. we killed some people. we restored our pride. and now the indications are, if you look at the statement that javad zarif, the foreign minister just gave, he looks like he's heading for the off-ramp. he does. >> as you know, things can always change. you think back to hurricane katrina, you know, all the headlines, ne

dexter filkins is right. he was perhaps a commander we've seen in one generation but several generation single handedly responsible for overseeing and orchestrating iran's proxy wars in i lost count in the number of countries, at least half a dozen. boasted in 2007, i believe, to his counterpart in iraq on the other side, i hope you enjoy the brief respite that you're getting here in baghdad. i've been busy in beirut that. was during the israel/lebanon war. he is singular and in fact i would argue he's irrelevant replaceable, although his replacement has just been announced by the quds force. an iran/iraq war veteran, very chair ra charismatic. soleimani has risen in this cult to personality style of a figure which is led to all kinds of speculation that he was plotting a political career in iran perhaps as president, perhaps as something even bigger. he was doing a lot of selfies on the battlefield, essentially taunting the united states. it's important to remember, joe, when the u.s. waged its occupation of

. >>> back in 2013, dexter filkin wrote a profile. iran's qassem soleimani who we learned yesterday had been killed by an american drone strike in iraq. in the profile he traced the massive role soleimani played in shaping the middle east for decades. and in the six years since that profile came out auj pobl and importance in the region had only grown larger. his rise was aided the disputably by the u.s. invasion of iraq which weakened iran's biggest enemy and counter balance. the invasion helped soleimani to consolidate control and his home base in iran was soleimani was head of the elite branch of the revolution guard on the quds force to iraq where he directed iranian-backed militias and imported bombs responsible for the deaths of hundreds of americans. he also had a huge say in who will become the new iraqi government. in syria he was largely responsible for the survival of brutal strong man bashar al assad providing troops and supplies that helped him back a civil war and rebellion. in lebanon he helped develop and prop up the m

. >> reporter: dexter filkins, a staff writer at "the new yorker" penned a profile on soleimani and likend which soleimani led to a sort of cia meets special forces. >> he is one of the most powerful men in the country. he is very close to the supreme leader. it would be like killing, you know, the vice president or supreme court justice. i mean, it's huge. >> reporter: soleimani is credited with employing so-called asymmetrical warfare tactics, using proxy forces to fight for iran, including against israel. how close of an eye did you keep on soleimani? >> very close. >> reporter: amos yadlin is a former chief of israeli military intelligence. >> you could see him in any place that iran tried to change the regime or to have a terror attack. you could see him in lebanon with hezbollah, in syria fighting for assad, in iraq killing american soldiers, and in yemen firing rockets to saudi arabia. >> reporter: yadlin told us he thinks iran is considering three options for retaliation, a strike on the united states, which is risky, on an american ally like saudi arabia or united arab emirates, o

force who led iran's forces throughout the middle east and was considered by many, including dexter filkins was the single most significant military figure in the middle east over the past generation. the pentagon says, quote, general soleimani was actively developing plans to attack american diplomats and service members in iraq and throughout the region adding, quote, this strike was aimed at deterring future iranian attack plans. the united states will continue to take all necessary action to protect our people and our interests wherever they are around the world. by most accounts, soleimani and his quds force were foresponsib for the deaths of hundreds of americans. he's accused of being part of the attack last week. he was part of the attacks in baghdad this week. iran supreme leader vowed, quote, harsh retaliation and severe revenge. iran president hassan rouhani said iran and, quote, other free nations of the region, will take revenge.

a hero in iran, se adored, there are posters of him everywhere, everybody knows where he is, dexter filkinswriter at the new yorker pen add profile on soleimani and likened iran's quds force which soleimani led to a sort of cia meets special forces. he is one of the most powerful men in the country. he is very close to the supreme leader, it would be like killing, you know, the vice president or supreme court justice, i mean, it is huge. >> soleimani is credited with employing so-called asymmetrical warfare tactics, using proxy forces to fight for iran, including against israel. >> how close of an eye did you keep on soleimani? >> very close. >> amos yadlin is a former chief of israeli military intelligence. >> you could see him in anyplace that iran tried to change the regime or to have a terror attack. you could see him in lebanon with hezbollah, in syria fighting for assad, in iraq killing american soldiers, and in yemen firing rockets to saudi arabia. >> reporter: yadlin told us he thinks iran is considering three options for retaliation, a strike on the united states which is risky, on