US vs IRAN: Why I ordered the killing of Soleimani - Trump

The United States secretary, Mike Pompeo has explained why President Donald Trump ordered the killing of the Iranian commander, Qasem Soleimani.

He said that the action was to disrupt an imminent attack that could have cost American Lives in the middle east region.

“I can’t talk too much about the nature of the threats. But the American people should know that the President’s decision to remove Soleimani from the battlefield saved American lives", he said.

He also added that Soleimani was plotting to take a big action that could have put hundred of lives at risk.

He also explained that Americans are now safer in the region after the strike and killing of Soleimani

“The risk of doing nothing was enormous. Intelligence community made that assessment and President Trump acted decisively last night”, Pompeo said.

He also said that after the killing of the US contractor in Iraq in December 27, they watched the intelligence talk about Soleimani's travels in the region and planned to put Americans at risk.

“And it was time to take this action so that we could disrupt this plot, deter further aggression from Qasem Soleimani and the Iranian regime, as well as to attempt to de-escalate the situation,” Pompeo said.