National Security Adviser: Soleimani Was Conspiring to Attack US Facilities, Diplomats

Supporters of the Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force and Iraq's Hezbollah brigades pose for a picture next to a poster of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani during a funeral, for Soleimani and Iraqi paramilitary chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, both killed by a U.S. airstrike, in Baghdad, Iraq on Jan. 4, 2020. Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP via Getty Images

National security adviser Robert O’Brien on Tuesday said Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani was conspiring to attack American facilities, diplomats, and soldiers in “significant numbers.”

“The president has always made it his first priority to protect American citizens, and the intel that we had, the information we had—which we believe was very strong—showed that Soleimani and those he was plotting with were looking to kill American diplomats and soldiers in significant numbers in the coming days,” O'Brien told Fox News.