U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence at the Situation Room of the White House. White House, January 2, 2019. Photo: The White House
Sardar Mesto | Exclusive to Ekurd.net
The American television channel NBC News reported that the US government had planned the assassination of Iranian commander General Qassem Suleimani seven months ago.
President Donald Trump then authorized the assassination of Suleimani if Iran’s attacks lead to the deaths of Americans, several sources in the administration told the channel. According to them, the presidential directive in June 2019 suggested that Trump would eventually approve a specific operation to eliminate the Iranian general.
The idea of killing the commander of the elite forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran, with which the United States does not officially fight, insisted John Bolton when he served as US national security adviser.
In 2017, Trump’s previous national security adviser, Herbert McMaster, proposed the assassination of Suleimani as one of the options for the US “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran.
After Iran destroyed the U.S. drone in June 2019, Bolton called on Trump to avenge the killing of the Iranian commander. This option was supported by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, but Trump then insisted on the operation only if Iran crosses its red line: “kill the American.”
US intelligence has closely monitored Suleimani’s movements for many years. When Trump took office, Pompeo, who was the first director of the CIA under Trump, urged the president to think about a more aggressive approach to Suleimani and revealed new intelligence about “very serious threats.”
On December 27, a US citizen was the victim of an unnamed bombing raid on a base in Iraqi Kirkuk. The US military accused Kataib Hezbollah of attacking the Iraqi Shiite militia led by Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who was also killed on January 3 during a U.S. drone attack on Suleimani’s motorcade.
Defense Minister Mark Esper presented the president with a series of answer options, talked about the pros and cons of the operation against the IRGC general, and made it clear that he was in favor of eliminating Suleimani.
The “death of an American” was the final reason that Trump decided to authorize an operation that violates all international conventions and the state sovereignty of Iraq.
The White House, the Department of State and the United States National Security Council, like John Bolton, did not comment. And information from NBC News sources refutes the justification presented by the Trump administration for the murder of Suleymani, which he planned to “attack the Americans.”
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