The United States claims to have “exercised its inherent right of self-defense” in accordance with Article 51 of the U.N. Charter in conducting a drone strike in Iraq targeting Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani.

While the United States prohibits assassination as a matter of national policy, not every killing violates this ban. And even if the killing did not have an international legal basis, it may not necessarily constitute an assassination under the U.S. government’s definition of the term.

The Canadian Supreme Court rules that a son of Russian spies is a Canadian citizen, and the killing of Qassem Soleimani—and the deaths of Canadian citizens aboard a jet downed by Iran—throws the country’s policy toward Iran and Iraq into question.

Qassim Soleimani's death has prompted questions about Iran’s ability to retaliate against the U.S. outside the Middle East. Iran and Hezbollah have spent the past several decades establishing international bases of operations—particularly in Latin America and Western Africa.