Media: Trump authorized killing of Iran's top general seven months ago

US President Donald Trump authorized the killing of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, seven months ago, if Iran's increased aggression resulted in the death of an American, Report says, citing RIA Novosti.

When the Iranian military shot down an American drone in the Strait of Hormuz in June 2019, former security adviser John Bolton and US Secretary of state Mike Pompeo called on Trump to take retaliatory measures, authorizing the operation against Soleimani. Trump, in turn, said that he would take this step only if a US citizen dies because of Iran. Moreover, Tehran claimed that the drone was shot down after violating the Iranian airspace.

The decision explains why assassinating Soleimani was on the menu of options that the military presented to Trump two weeks ago for responding to an attack by Iranian proxies in Iraq, in which a US contractor was killed, and four US service members were wounded, the officials said.

According to NBC, this may call into question the pretexts put forward by the Trump administration to justify the operation.