Growing Doubts Over Soleimani's Death Reason... Trump Says "Imminent Threat Status Not Important"

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] The U.S. political scene is in turmoil over the elimination of Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. The U.S. government has explained that the reason for the sudden removal of Soleimani without notifying Congress was due to an 'imminent threat,' but controversy continues over whether the threat was truly imminent.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 13th (local time), U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted, "The fake news media and their Democrat partners are working hard to clarify whether terrorist Soleimani's future attacks were imminent and whether my team (cabinet and aides) agreed," adding, "(My answer to this) is yes to all." He continued, "But because of his terrible past, it (whether it was imminent or not) does not matter."

President Trump's statement emphasized that the 'imminent threat,' which was the justification for Soleimani's removal, did indeed exist, but remarks such as "whether it was imminent does not matter" have fueled further controversy.

Moreover, U.S. media reported that the decision to eliminate Soleimani was already made in June last year. NBC reported that President Trump had already ordered the killing of Soleimani if an American was killed in an Iranian attack last year.

The broadcast explained that this order helps clarify why the decision to assassinate Soleimani was among President Trump's response options when Americans were killed in Iraq. NBC also introduced that the plan to remove Soleimani was discussed when Iran shot down a U.S. drone in June last year. At that time, then-White House National Security Advisor John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo proposed the option of eliminating Soleimani to President Trump, but it was not accepted. President Trump said, "It can only be discussed if Americans are attacked."

At least within the U.S. administration until now, the plan to remove Soleimani was an issue discussed only as a kind of 'retaliatory attack.'

Furthermore, senior U.S. government officials have shown questionable behavior regarding the imminent threat.

According to The Washington Post (WP), Secretary Pompeo refused to appear before Congress regarding the Soleimani removal operation. Democratic Representative Michael Engle, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, requested Pompeo regarding the U.S.'s hostile policy toward Iran, but Pompeo did not accept the request.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Chairman Engle pointed out, "New questions arise every day," adding, "The administration is giving confusing answers about whether it was truly an imminent threat, whether it was part of a broader operation, what the legal basis was, and what the future plans are, but Secretary Pompeo must actively explain these questions."

Earlier, U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper appeared on CBS's 'Face the Nation' and said, "I have seen no evidence related to the four embassies." U.S. media pointed out that this was also a controversial remark. President Trump mentioned that four U.S. embassies were under imminent threat, but the Secretary of Defense stated that he had seen no evidence.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.