On the third day of 2020, a United States drone strike near Baghdad International Airport killed Iranian major general Qasem Soleimani of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard. The assassination of Soleimani stoked fears of an armed conflict between the United States and Iran. These tensions would lead to mass demonstrations in the country, a counterattack on a base housing U.S. troops, and an Ukrainian passenger jet being inadvertently downed. Markets were briefly rattled, with oil hitting its 2020 high of near $65/barrel in the aftermath.
The killing of Soleimani was an exogenous shock to markets, and