Trump planned Qassem Soleimani’s assassination from 2017 before US blew up Iranian general in drone strike killing
THE ASSASSINATION of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani has been in plans since 2017.
Those plans surfaced shortly after Mike Pompeo became the director of the CIA under former President Donald Trump.
At the time those discussions took place, the National Security Council was considering assigning the killing mission to the Pentagon’s special operations.
The Pentagon had ruled out any options suggested by Trump to kill Soleimani.
Two missiles fired from a MQ9 Reaper drone struck Soleimani after he disembarked from an aircraft at Baghdad airport.
Trump said that Soleimani was "actively planning new attacks" against the US in Baghdad and beyond, deriding his Democratic opponents.
"We stopped him, and we stopped him quickly and we stopped him cold," Trump added, in the wake of opposition to the escalating tensions with Iran.
Iran's Soleimani spearheaded Iran's military operations in the Middle East as head of the country's elite Quds Force.
He joined the Revolutionary Guards - who have been declared a foreign terrorist organisation by the US - in 1979, taking over as head of the Quds Force in 1998.
He was considered to be one of the most powerful figures in the country, masterminding Iranian intelligence and military operations abroad.
Outside of war-games he was considered to be even more pivotal, with commentators comparing his role to that of US Vice President, Mike Pence.
He is thought to have directly reported to Ali Khamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader.
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He gained a mysterious reputation, and was reported to have survived many assassination attempts.
Israel, the US and Saudi Arabia were closely following his movements as he cultivated Iran's military influence in the Middle East, with the US believing he was behind attacks on Americans staying in the region.