President Donald Trump reacted to news Friday the United States successfully killed Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force.
“Iran never won a war, but never lost a negotiation!” he wrote on Twitter.
It appeared the president was open to negotiation or war with Iran, but proposed that diplomacy was a better path forward.
Trump also defended the successful strike, noting that Soleimani was currently plotting against Americans overseas.
“General Qassem 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!” he wrote on Twitter.
The president also noted that Soleimani was responsible for killing Iranian protesters in the country.
“While Iran will never be able to properly admit it, Soleimani was both hated and feared within the country,” he wrote. “They are not nearly as saddened as the leaders will let the outside world believe. He should have been taken out many years ago!”
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appeared on CNN on Friday morning to defend the president’s action as an “intelligence-based assessment.”
“The risk of doing nothing was enormous,” Pompeo said, noting Soleimani was planning an “imminent” attack that would threaten American lives overseas.
“Last night was the time that we needed to strike to make sure that this imminent attack that he was working actively was disrupted,” he said.
The president also shared CNN anchor Jim Sciutto’s observation on Twitter that Soleimani had killed and maimed hundreds of U.S. soldiers in Iraq.
After the news of Soleimani’s killing was confirmed by the Pentagon on Thursday evening, President Trump shared an image of the American flag.