Trump: Iran's Soleimani was plotting 'imminent' attacks on diplomats, soldiers before US killed him

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said Friday that Iranian military leader Gen. Qasem Soleimani was plotting "imminent and sinister attacks" on American diplomats and military personnel before he was killed in a military strike in Baghdad.

Speaking to reporters at his private resort in Florida, Trump said he does not seek war with Iran but is prepared to take whatever action is necessary to guarantee the safety of Americans.

“We took action last night to stop a war,” Trump said. “We did not take action to start a war.”

Trump said he does not seek regime change in Iran. But, "I am ready and prepared to take whatever action is necessary," he said.

Later, at a campaign event with evangelicals in Miami, Trump told a cheering crowd that Soleimani’s “bloody rampage” is over.

“We’ve ensured that his atrocities have been stopped for good,” Trump said. “He was planning a very major attack, and we got him.”

Meanwhile, the Pentagon said the United States will send about 3,000 more soldiers to the Middle East to bolster existing forces. The soldiers will come from the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Earlier Friday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the attack that killed Soleimani was in response to "an intelligence-based assessment."

"He was actively planning in the region," Pompeo said on CNN, adding the U.S. action "saved American lives."

Pompeo declined to disclose specific details of the intelligence but said the threats were not aimed at the U.S. soil.

“These were threats located in the region,” Pompeo said

The State Department urged all American citizens to leave Iraq "immediately" as Washington braced for what happens next after the airstrike, which drew strong condemnation from Iran and threatens to escalate tensions with the U.S.

The agency warned Americans to stay away from the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and suspended all public consular activities "until further notice." The warning followed days of sometimes violent protests by Iranian-backed militia members and their supporters, who smashed their way into the embassy compound to protest U.S. airstrikes that killed at least two dozen Iran-backed fighters in Iraq.

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The Pentagon said in a statement released Thursday evening that the latest airstrike had been carried out at Trump's direction as a "defensive action" against Soleimani. The Defense Department said Thursday that Soleimani had "orchestrated attacks on coalition bases in Iraq over the last several months."

Retired Army Maj. Gen. Mark Quantock, the former director of intelligence for U.S. Central Command, said the Iranian regime is likely to lash out in several ways after the killing of Soleimani. He was a national hero in Iran and his death is a “blow to the Iranian psyche.”

The Iranians generally are deliberate in formulating attacks but may move more quickly in light of Soleimani’s prominence, Quantock said.

Attacks by Iranian surrogates, such as the militias in Iraq aligned and supported by Iran, are likely to occur first, he said. Those groups had viewed Soleimani as “their guy,” Quantock said. The 5,000 U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria will need to be especially vigilant in the coming days, he said.

U.S. and coalition embassies throughout the Middle East will also be potential targets. In the Persian Gulf, Iranian Republican Guard fast boats could make provocative runs at U.S. Navy vessels, seeking to draw fire and be seen as victims.

“The potential for escalation is especially high as the current Iraqi regime is now firmly caught/wedged between their two major benefactors who assisted them in their fight again ISIS,” Quantock said. “It's difficult to prognosticate how this plays out.”

Democrats, who said they had not been notified of the operation in advance, urged caution and called on the Trump administration to brief members of Congress on further developments.

In a statement, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the airstrike "risks provoking further dangerous escalation of violence" and was carried out without proper congressional authorization. Pelosi called on the Trump administration to brief Congress on the situation.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said the administration would brief congressional staff on Friday and that a classified briefing for all senators could be held early next week.

Speaking from the Senate floor, McConnell urged Democrats to wait to review the facts and hear from the administration before passing judgment on the military operation and its potential consequences. He called Soleimani a "master terrorist" and an "evil man" and said no man alive was more directly responsible for the deaths of more American servicemen.

Regardless, Democrats immediately raised questions about the military operation and warned of its consequences.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., viewed the strike as evidence that Trump is diminishing Congress' role in the government's power to wage war. Kaine introduced a war powers resolution on Friday to force a debate and vote in Congress to prevent further escalation of hostilities with Iran.

“For years, I’ve been deeply concerned about President Trump stumbling into a war with Iran," Kaine said. "We’re now at a boiling point, and Congress must step in before Trump puts even more of our troops in harm’s way."

The War Powers Act, which was passed after the Vietnam War to check the power of presidents to wage war, requires presidents to notify Congress about military deployments and places a 60-day limit on the deployment of military forces without congressional approval or a formal declaration of war.

Kaine's resolution would require that any hostilities with Iran must be explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or specific authorization for use of military force. It does not prevent the United States from defending itself from imminent attack.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, also a Democratic presidential candidate, said Trump had "just tossed a stick of dynamite into a tinderbox."

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Acknowledging that Soleimani had "deserved to be brought to justice," Biden slammed the airstrike as a "hugely escalatory move in an already dangerous region" and questioned the Trump administration's "discipline or "long-term vision."

Michael Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor who also is seeking the Democratic nomination for president, called Soleimani "a murderer with the blood of Americans on his hands."

"Without more information," Bloomberg said, "we can only hope that the president has carefully thought through the national security implications of this attack for our country and the grave risks involved. But given his track record and his history of making reckless and impulsive decisions that undermine U.S. strategic objectives and weaken our allies – most recently in Syria – there is every reason to be deeply concerned."

Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, who served as a military intelligence officer in Afghanistan, said while there is no question that Soleimani was a threat to the safety and security of Americans, "there are serious questions about how this decision was made and whether we are prepared for the consequences."

“As we learn more in the coming days and weeks, one thing is clear: this must not be the start of another endless war," Buttigieg said.

House Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., said he was "deeply concerned about the repercussions" of the airstrike and called it a "massive escalation in our conflict with Iran."

"This strike went forward with no notification or consultation with Congress," he said, noting how the lack of notification "raises serious legal problems."

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said, "All steps must now be taken to protect our forces against the almost inevitable escalation and increased risk."

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Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a close Trump ally, struck a more hawkish tone.

"If Iranian aggression continues and I worked at an Iranian oil refinery, I would think about a new career," he wrote on Twitter, directly thanking Trump for "standing up for America."

Graham, who was spotted at Trump's resort in Palm Beach, Fla., earlier this week, said during a Friday morning appearance on Fox and Friends that he was briefed on the plan to kill Soleimani before it happened.

“I was briefed about the potential operation when I was down in Florida,” he said. “I really appreciate President Trump letting the world know you cannot kill an American without impunity.”

Graham's fellow member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, asked whether the Trump administration had developed a "coherent" strategy" on Iran.

"With ever increasing challenges confronting us in the Middle East, it’s imperative that the US & our allies articulate & pursue a coherent strategy for protecting our security interests in the region," Romney wrote on Twitter.

Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., and one of Trump's closest allies, said via Twitter that Soleimani was "a murderer with the blood of Americans on his hands – and plotting more attacks."

"Thank God for our military who eliminated him," Meadows wrote. "President Trump sent a message: the days of appeasement are over. Target Americans, and you will be swiftly brought to justice."

Embassy attacked: Protesters at US Embassy in Baghdad disperse as security personnel fire tear gas

Around the world, reaction to Soleimani's death was mixed.

Russia called Soleimani's killing a "murder" and offered condolences to Iran.

"We consider the murder of Soleimani as a result of an American missile strike on the outskirts of Baghdad as an adventurous step that will lead to an increase in tension in the entire region," said a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry. "Soleimani has faithfully served the cause of protecting the national interests of Iran. We express our sincere condolences to the Iranian people."

China "has always opposed the use of force in international relations,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a daily press briefing. “We urge the relevant sides, especially the United States, to remain calm and exercise restraint to avoid further escalating tensions.”

The Turkish Foreign Ministry, in a statement published by the state-funded Anadolu news agency, said: "We strongly emphasize a warning once again that turning Iraq into a conflict zone will hurt peace and stability."

France called on all parties to show restraint and avoid taking any measures that could aggravate regional instability or lead to a serious nuclear proliferation crisis.

The United Kingdom also issued a low-key statement urging both sides to cool down.

“We have always recognized the aggressive threat posed by the Iranian Quds force led by Qasem Soleimani," Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said. "Following his death, we urge all parties to de-escalate."

He added: "Further conflict is in none of our interests.”

Contributing: Tom Vanden Brook, David Jackson and Courtney Subramanian

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Qasem Soleimani killing: Trump says general plotted 'imminent' attacks