Picture thousands of Marines rushing onto planes to confront one of the largest threats in U.S. history; tensions rise as both sides move closer to an engagement; warnings are sent through neutral countries as the media goes into a frenzy.

Middle schoolers may know a few things about the current situation with Iran through social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter, but the killing of top Iranian general, Qasem Soleimani, was serious, and came in the form of a missile attack in January.

The attack devastated the Al Assad air base and left more than 100 soldiers with brain injuries.
The heightened tensions have many asking was the killing sensible?

Senator Lindsey Graham defended Trump by saying “He [Soleimani] signed his own death warrant.” Democratic congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, who also pointed out Soleimani attacks against America said, “Trump was not straight” with Congress about the killing.

In an “Ursus” poll of students in the hallway, eight out of 10 students said they did not believe the killing was needed.
“His views on the military and their budget are terrible and going to send us to war,” said Oliver Hallegarten, an 8th grade student at BMS.
Some students have been heard joking about the bombing.

“I think it’s awful, that it would be made light of,” said Mrs. Drenosky, a teacher at BMS. “It’s never a good idea to make fun of a assassination.”
But just as all the jokes and memes about Solemani were being discussed in the hallways, the situation seemed to fade and de-escalate. A few days late, NBC news claimed that we were much closer to war than previously known, claiming that a note was sent through Sweden to Iran attempting to de-escalate the situation.

Although many believe that the Iran tensions started with the targeted killing of Qasem Soleimani, U.S. and Iranian issues date back decades. As this issue went to press, Congress was debating a possible regulation to force Trump to run any killings and or attacks by Congress.

Even though it seems the situation has quieted, judging from the U.S.’s past experiences with Iran, there is more to come.