When he was running for president, Donald Trump had no clue who Qassim Suleimani was, but for months he has been thinking about assassinating the Iranian general, according to a new report.
"Last summer, as Iranian forces shot down an American drone, taunted oil tankers in the Gulf and threatened U.S. personnel in Iraq, President Donald Trump was presented with a series of options to respond," McClatchy reported Friday. "It was at this time that administration officials first began considering killing Iran’s top general, Qassem Suleimani, according to three sources familiar with the deliberations."
Suleimani was assassinated at the Baghdad airport in Iraq and the Pentagon has claimed responsibility.
"One defense official said that Suleimani, who led the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was a person of interest for months, as it became clearer he was behind the escalating attacks against U.S. personnel and facilities," McClatchy reported. "One diplomat with a U.S. ally in the region said that Suleimani was discussed as a U.S. target since the summer."
McClatchy interviewed a source who "frequently consults" with the National Security Council.
“Suleimani has been under consideration as a target for many years – the question is when it reached the president’s desk,” the source said. “My understanding is that it was made many months ago.”
The United States has over 5,000 troops in Iraq, with the ready battalion of the 82nd Airborne Division being sent to the region.
"Former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama considered strikes on Suleimani throughout their terms, but refrained out of concern over blowback," McClatchy noted. "Two U.S. diplomats said that embassy staff stationed in Beirut and Baghdad are especially fearful over the consequences of Suleimani’s killing, while other U.S. embassies around the Gulf region remain on alert."
Read the full report.