U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday defended President Trump's decision to authorize a strike that killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani.
Trump had ‘legal, appropriate basis’ to kill Soleimani - Pompeo
Pompeo on Tuesday said attacks planned by Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani, killed in a U.S. drone attack last week, "were going to lead, potentially, to the death of many more Americans." Pompeo made the comment at a news conference where he was pressed on whether any such planned Iranian attacks were "imminent," the term that he had used on Friday, the day Soleimani was killed in Iraq.
Pompeo also held Soleimani responsible for a Dec.
27 rocket attack in Iraq in which a U.S. civilian contractor was killed.
"He was continuing the terror campaign in the region.
We know what happened... in December, ultimately leading to the death of an American.
So, if you are looking for imminence, you need look no further than the days that led up to the strike that was taken against Soleimani," Pompeo said.