Pentagon pushed back internally on strike against Iranian military leader
In the days preceding President Donald Trump's order for the drone strike that took out Qasem Soleimani, Pentagon officials were split over whether to carry out the strike.
![IRAQ-SECURITY/BLAST-USA-ATTACKS Iranian guards hold a picture of the late Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, during a protest against the killing of Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force, and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who were killed in an air strike at Baghdad airport, in front of United Nation office in Tehran, Iran January 3, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Nazanin Tabatabaee via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC2L8E9X2X49](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/almpics/2019/12/RTS2X1OD.jpg/RTS2X1OD.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=p81x3gcD)
In the days surrounding President Donald Trump's approval of a drone strike that took out Iranian Quds Force chief Qasem Soleimani, there was internal dissent inside the Pentagon over whether to carry out the strike and if the Pentagon had the legal backing for the move, a former senior administration official told Al-Monitor.
The debate inside the Defense Department centered around fears of a potential escalation with Iran, the official said, after tit-for-tat clashes since May 2019, culminating in suspected Iranian-backed drone and cruise missile strikes against a refining facility in Saudi Arabia in September.