This archive report was first published on 3 January 2020.
US President Donald Trump has sparked controversy with his comments on the assassination of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a US strike on January 3, 2020.
According to Trump, Soleimani 'should have been taken out many years ago!' The US President made the statement in a tweet, where he also claimed that Soleimani 'has killed or badly wounded thousands of Americans over an extended period of time, and was plotting to kill many more...but got caught!'
Trump's comments come after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo revealed that Soleimani was planning imminent action that threatened American citizens when he was killed in the strike.
"He was actively plotting in the region to take actions -- a big action, as he described it -- that would have put dozens if not hundreds of American lives at risk," Pompeo told CNN on January 3, 2020.
Trump's statement has been met with widespread criticism, with many questioning the timing and justification of the assassination.
