President Donald Trump agreed to the killing of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani seven months ago, NBC News reports. Current and former Trump administration officials told the network that Trump approved the plan last June based on the condition that it would only go ahead if Iran’s increased aggression resulted in the death of an American. A U.S. contractor was killed and four U.S. service members were wounded in an attack by Iranian proxies in Iraq days before Soleimani’s death. The report casts serious doubt on the Trump administration’s justification for the attack—the president has repeatedly stated Soleimani was killed because he was planning imminent attacks on American embassies. John Bolton, who was Trump’s national security adviser at the time, reportedly urged Trump kill Soleimani last June after Iran shot down a U.S. drone, but Trump decided it couldn’t go ahead until an American was killed.
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