President Trump said in an interview airing Friday that Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani was plotting attacks against four embassies before the U.S. carried out last week’s airstrike that killed the top commander.
“I can reveal that I believe it would have been four embassies,” Trump told Laura Ingraham during an interview on Fox News that will air in full Friday night. The president also said Soleimani was targeting the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, repeating a claim he made on Thursday.
“Don’t the American people have a right to know what specifically was targeted without revealing methods and sources?” Ingraham asked Trump.
“Well, I don’t think so. But we will tell you that probably it was going to be the Embassy in Baghdad,” Trump replied.
Trump’s comments went beyond what senior administration officials have said about the alleged attacks plotted by Soleimani, which they have described as posing an imminent threat to American lives without going into further detail in a purported effort to protect intelligence sources and methods.
Earlier Friday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said at a White House press briefing that the Iranian general had been plotting a “large-scale” attack that threatened American facilities, including U.S. embassies and military bases, in the Middle East.
Under questioning from reporters, Pompeo said that the Trump administration didn’t know precisely when or where the attack would occur, but insisted it was imminent.
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#BREAKING: Trump says Soleimani was plotting attacks on four US embassies https://t.co/QnUE9OQRWG pic.twitter.com/YrCEFAx7Zi
— The Hill (@thehill) January 10, 2020
By next week it's going to be 44 embassies and a McDonald's in Indiana https://t.co/4KpBHYkQ3F
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) January 10, 2020
Over two days, Trump has gone from 1) not mentioning embassies to 2) saying it was the embassy in Baghdad to 3) saying it was embassies plural to 4) saying it was four embassies. https://t.co/tohWojLAMY
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) January 10, 2020
From a former intelligence officer who knows how this works. And to Marc’s point, note this from our story. https://t.co/pP5tZH8o2a pic.twitter.com/KPIgfMbQxG
— Shane Harris (@shaneharris) January 11, 2020
Silence, peasants. https://t.co/coUysHOBLo
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) January 11, 2020
Yeah, I’m sure Trump is exaggerating (lying). The guy just loves melodrama, especially if he creates it.
But I’m reasonably sure Soleimani had some plans to hit targets somewhere . Guys like him are always thinking of ways to hurt and kill the maximum number of innocents.
Trouble is, because Trump likes to exaggerate, bluff and outright lie for dramatic effect. it gets to the point that no one believes him. This can be dangerous because the next time there is a legitimate threat, he won’t be believed. And a lot of people can die as a result.
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