5 Things You Might Not Know about Iran

1. General Qassem Soleimani was Targeted for Planning an ‘Imminent’ Attack on U.S. Soldiers

Although some critics of President Trump’s action have labeled the drone strike an assassination, most agree Soleimani was a terrorist mastermind.

CNN reported Jan. 3—the day of the attack that killed Soleimani—that a congressional source revealed that American intelligence had determined the general “was in multiple countries in the region planning specific attacks on U.S. interests, including U.S. personnel.” That source added that the Iranian plans were developing beyond normal chatter.

Meanwhile, a senior administration official told CNN they had evidence Soleimani traveled to Baghdad to execute future hits on American interests.

Tony Shaffer, a former intelligence officer with the Department of Defense, outlined the case against the general in an opinion piece for Real Clear Politics. It is important to note that Shaffer is a member of the Trump 2020 advisory board.

In the article, Shaffer said his opinion is shaped by his experience going “toe-to-toe with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Afghanistan.” That experience included interrogating an IRGC “enabler.”

“As the leader of the IRGC’s Quds Force, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. government, Soleimani was among America’s most vociferous and aggressive foes,” Shaffer wrote. “He was personally…