Reacting to the U.S. killing of Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander and terrorist Qasem Soleimani, on Friday, NBC’s Today show warned of “the entire region on edge” and feared that the death of the “iconic military leader” created a “more dangerous world.”

“Breaking overnight, deadly attack. The U.S. kills Iran’s top general in a dramatic air strike at Baghdad’s airport, under direct orders from President Trump,” co-host Hoda Kotb proclaimed at the top of the broadcast. After fretting that the Middle East was “on edge,” she continued: “Iran vowing retaliation amid fears the two nations are on the brink of an all-out war. Oil prices already skyrocketing.”

Minutes later, chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell eulogized Soleimani as “an iconic military leader” who “led forces in Iraq, Syria, and throughout the Middle East.” She then acknowledged: “American officials believe he was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American soldiers during the Iraq war, branding him a terrorist.”

During an interview that followed with retired Navy Admiral and NBC News military analyst James Stavridis, fill-in co-host and Nightly News anchor Lester Holt worried that the death of a terrorist with so much American blood on his hands somehow made the world less safe: “Is it a new day for Americans overseas right now? Is this a more dangerous world we’re waking up to?”

Stavridis agreed: “Unfortunately it is, Lester.” While admitting that Soleimani was “evil,” the Admiral went on to remember the brutal Iranian official as “a brilliant man, he was the Cardinal Richelieu, he was the Machiavelli...”

The analyst added: “...we are better for his chess piece coming off the chess board. But that’s tactics, strategy – our strategy is going to put a lot of Americans at risk globally.”

Holt wrapped up the interview by referring to “troubling times right now” in the wake of Soleimani’s death.

Here are excerpts of the January 3 coverage: