'A more dangerous world': Iran killing triggers global alarm

Global powers warned Friday that the world became a more dangerous place after the US assassinated Iran's top general, urging restraint on all sides.

Britain and Germany also suggested that Iran shared some blame for provoking the targeted killing that dramatically ratcheted up tensions in the Mideast.

China, Russia and France, all permanent members of the UN Security Council, took a dim view of the US airstrike near Baghdad's airport early Friday that killed General Qassem Soleimani and several of his associates.

The 62-year-old led Iran's elite Quds Force, responsible for the country's foreign campaigns.

The White House justified the strike with a tweet alleging that Soleimani "was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region".

Oil prices surged on news of the killing, reflecting investor jitters about Mideast stability, and there were immediate threats of vengeance from Iran.

Social media flooded with alarm, with Twitter users morbidly turning "WWIII" into the top trending term worldwide.

"We are waking up in a more dangerous world. Military escalation is always dangerous," France's deputy minister for foreign affairs, Amelie de Montchalin, told RTL radio.

"When such actions, such operations, take place, we see that escalation is underway."
"We urge all parties concerned, especially the United States, to maintain calm and restraint and avoid further escalation of tensions."
The British foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, said, "We have always recognized the aggressive threat posed by the Iranian Quds force led by Qasem Soleimani."
"Following his death, we urge all parties to de-escalate," he said. "Further conflict is in none of our interests."
There were also warnings that the killing could set back efforts to stamp out remnants of the Islamic State group. A top European Union official, Charles Michel, said "The risk is a generalized flare up of violence in the whole region and the rise of obscure forces of terrorism that thrive at times of religious and nationalist tensions."