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Tensions, and oil prices, rise after U.S. move against Iran

America’s killing of Iran’s top security and intelligence commander, Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, this morning has sharply escalated tensions between Washington and Tehran. And markets are taking notice.

U.S. officials said General Suleimani had been hit in a drone strike at Baghdad International Airport. He was “the architect of nearly every significant operation by Iranian intelligence and military forces over the past two decades,” the NYT notes. (Here’s a smart long read on his importance.)

Critics of the killing worry that it will cause huge trouble for the U.S. and allies like Israel, including putting America closer to war with Iran. “Managing the trouble this strike seems likely to produce will further weaken the United States and entangle it in peripheral conflicts disconnected from U.S. security,” said Daniel Davis, a senior fellow at Defense Priorities, a think tank in Washington.

How the markets are looking:

• Oil prices were up 4 percent after news of the strike emerged, with Brent crude reaching nearly $70 a barrel.