White House officials were stunned Trump decided to assassinate Suleimani: Washington Post

How President Donald Trump came to the conclusion to assassinate Qassim Suleimani was the focus of a new Washington Post article published Friday evening.

"Officials gave differing and incomplete accounts of the intelligence they said prompted Trump to act. Some said they were stunned by his decision, which could lead to war with one of America’s oldest adversaries in the Middle East," The Post reported.

“It was tremendously bold and even surprised many of us,” one unnamed senior administration official told the newspaper.

Vice President Mike Pence was closely involved.

"At his resort in Florida, the president was told the Iranian leader was going to be coming to Baghdad; senior officials felt he was taunting the United States by showing up in the Iraqi capital, implying he could move around with impunity," the newspaper reported. "Calls between the national security principals were convened by the vice president throughout the week after initial discussions on Sunday to kill Soleimani, a senior administration official said."