US President Donald Trump, along with the Pentagon leadership, for a long time could not decide on the assassination of Iranian General Kassem Suleimani.
This was reported by The Washington Post, citing its own sources.
According to media reports, the idea to push the United States to war with Iran belonged to the head of the Department of State, Michael Pompeo. It was he who promoted the neutralization plan of Suleimani for several months. At the same time, the head of the White House, according to sources, considered the operation dubious, given the already increased tension in the Middle East.
Trump did not reconsider his position only at the end of last year, when an Iraqi military base in the Kirkuk area, where the American armed forces were based, was suddenly fired upon. The victim of the attack was a US citizen. A few days after the Pompeo incident, Pentagon chief Mark Esper and head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Armed Forces Mark Milli met with Donald Trump, convincing him to carry out a bombing in Iraq.
Accusing Kassem Suleimani and deputy head of the Iraqi Shiite militia Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis of involvement in the storming of the US embassy on December 31, the United States delivered a provocative blow.