Amid threats of retaliation against the United States for the killing of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, President Trump appears to be using a “back to the future” strategy to forestall any reprisals from Tehran. In response to a warning that the Iranians have made a list of 35 American vulnerable targets, the president said his own list of 52 Iranian targets would be destroyed quickly – “very fast and very quickly – if any of the Iranian targets are attacked. The U.S. blew up a car Soleimani was riding in on a service road outside the Baghdad airport on Friday afternoon triggering anger, threats and recriminations. Most analysts in the region consider the American operation to be the most aggressive military act since the launching of the 2003 war. The significance of the number “52” President Trump used in his warning refers to the capture and holding as hostages of those found in the American Embassy in Tehran in 1979 and held for 444 days: until January 20, 1981, the day Ronald Reagan was inaugurated. The crisis and former president Jimmy Carter’s inability to prevent or solve it played a key role in his failure to secure a second term in office. Targets already specified by Iranian sources include locations where concentrations of American forces are located and the Israeli city of Tel Aviv.