Editor's note: US-Iran relations have deteriorated following the US killing of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani in an airstrike in Iraq's capital Baghdad on Jan 3. In retaliation for the killing, Iran has launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles against US military and coalition forces in Iraq on Wednesday. Who is to blame for the rising tensions? How will the conflict evolve? Readers share their opinions.

CrawlingSnail (China)

The US launched an air strike on the soil of Iraq against a commander from Iran, in the name of safeguarding the interest of the US. Whatever the reaction from Iran, the situation in the Middle East is set to escalate, which could not serve the best interests of the US. The US has spent trillions of dollars on wars and conflicts in Iraq, with thousands of US soldiers being killed and many more wounded, and now the US is going to bog down the Middle East for another decade. Skyrocketing military spending will be borne by US taxpayers, while there will be no more money for upgrading broken infrastructure and healthcare system as a result. Global trends are peace and development, and no country can afford to turn against the trend.