The killing of Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, head of the Quds Force unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), is reverberating around the world, not least of all in oil markets. The price of crude oil has surged nearly 4 percent since the United States killed the senior Iranian military leader in Baghdad early on Jan. 3 — although the rise is only about a third of the rise that occurred in the first trading session after Iran attacked Saudi oil facilities at Abqaiq and Khurais in September. Though there is no doubt that Iran will retaliate forcefully against U.S. interests and personnel in the Middle East , the oil market is loath to price in a large risk premium in the absence of any action that actually decreases global oil volumes.