Below is an extract of a post published on Metro titled "Trump had been planning to ‘kill Qasem Soleimani for 18 months’"
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Via: Metro
Surveillance of Soleimani intensified after attacks on oil tankers in the Persian Gulf, which the US held Iran responsible for (Picture: AP) The US had been planning to kill Iranian general Qasem Soleimani for ‘18 months’, before the eventual strike that brought Iran and America to the brink of all-out war, it has been revealed. Discussions to kill the head of Iran’s al Quds force, which conducted operations for the Iranian regime abroad, had been ‘going on for months’, according to the New York Times. Soleimani was killed in a drone strike outside Baghdad airport on January 3, after President Trump said he had been ‘actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region’. He was considered to be the second most powerful man in Iran. His death prompted threats of ‘severe retaliation’ from Tehran, with a barrage of ballistic missiles fired at two US bases earlier this week. President Trump said there had been no casualties, despite claims on Iranian state TV that 80 US troops had been killed. Iranian general Qassem Soleimani was killed in a drone strike on January 3 (Picture: Anadolu) It has now emerged that Soleimani was being tracked by US intelligence officials for months, with surveillance intensifying in May. After attacks on oil tankers in the Persian Gulf in June, which the US blamed Iran for, Trump’s then national security adviser John Bolton asked defence officials to come up with new plans to stop Iranian aggression. He was then reportedly given the option of killing Soleimani and other leaders of Iran’s revolutionary guard. In September, defence officials were said to be considering strikes against him, but told the President that it was too risky to target him in Iran. However, plans were made for a possible strike in Iraq or Syria. Tehran promised severe retaliation for the death of Soleimani (Picture: EPA) Following the attack on the US embassy on December 31 by demonstrators who were protesting against US air strikes targeting an Iranian-backed militia in Iraq and Syria that had left 25 dead, the President was given several potential targets after Iran was suspected being involved. It was suggested that US forces could target Iranian energy facilities and an Iranian Revolutionary Guard command-and-control ship used to direct small boats that harass oil tankers in the waters around Iran. Soleimani would fly on commercial planes and book several tickets to avoid surveillance, often asking for the first seat in Business class so he could quickly leave the plane, according to the New York Times. As tensions between Tehran and Washington increased, Soleimani flew to Lebanon on New Year’s Day to meet with the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, who warned him of a possible assassination attempt. Trump was presented with a number of options to curb Iranian aggression but chose the most extreme, according to officials (Picture: AP) The general is said to have laughed and said he hoped to die a martyr. On the same day US intelligence officials are said to have picked up increased ‘scraps of information’ that suggested Soleimani was planning ‘attacks on American embassies.’ It was only then that the President decided to authorise the strike on the 62-year-old. However, some of Trump’s officials were left surprised that he had taken the most extreme option presented to him to curb Iranian aggression. Got a story for Metro.co.uk? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. For more stories like this, check our news page.
