And now the president has given further details on those prior statements, saying in a new interview with Fox News there was a plot to bomb four embassies across the region.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can reveal that I believe it would\u2019ve been four embassies,\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0Trump told<\/a>\u00a0Fox’s Ingraham in an exclusive interview set to air in full Friday night.\u00a0When pressed on specific targets, the president revealed:\u00a0\u201cWe will tell you that probably it was going to be the embassy in Baghdad.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n This followed statements earlier in the day by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over the president’s Thursday assertion Soleimani sought to “blow up” embassies. Pompeo was pressed by reporters over the nature of the “imminent threat” claims.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had specific information on an imminent threat and that threat stream included attacks on U.S. embassies. Period. Full stop,\u201d he said. Asked about what made it imminent, Pompeo simply said:\u00a0\u201cIt was going to happen.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n See President Trump’s newest statement asserting four embassies were being targeted in the Fox interview:<\/em><\/p>\n https:\/\/twitter.com\/joshtpm\/status\/1215741899211931648?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1215741899211931648&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fgeopolitical%2Ftrump-says-soleimani-plotted-bomb-attacks-4-us-embassies-intel-senators-balk<\/p>\n At first it was unclear whether President Trump\u00a0<\/strong>saw specific intelligence outlining such a threat,\u00a0or perhaps\u00a0was speaking generally and hyperbolic (“blow up” the embassy)\u00a0of the pro-Iranian mob’s actions besieging the US embassy in Baghdad\u00a0days prior to the Soleimani assassination. The demonstrators had been filmed setting the outer walls of the compound on fire during the chaotic events of early last week which resulted in a contingent of Marines rapidly deploying from Kuwait to bolster embassy security.<\/p>\n Given Trump and Pompeo’s newest statements, it appears clear they’re referencing a\u00a0previously unknown plot which they are presenting as\u00a0tied to specific US intelligence data<\/strong>.<\/p>\n CNN also reveals\u00a0as much\u00a0in the following<\/a>:<\/p>\n A senior defense official told reporters Thursday the US had intelligence about multiple plots and threats involving Soleimani, including one that involved\u00a0a plan to attack the embassy using explosives<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The plot was separate and more sophisticated than the attempts to storm the US embassy in Baghdad<\/strong> by Molotov-cocktail wielding Khatib Hezbollah members and its supporters, an effort US officials have said was also orchestrated by Soleimani.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n During Trump’s prior Thursday remarks, he tied the newly revealed alleged\u00a0embassy bombing plot to the specific decision-making to go after Soleimani via drone strike, alongside other reasons including the Dec.27\u00a0death of a US contractor<\/a>\u00a0during a rocket attack by Khatib Hezbollah on a base in Kirkuk.<\/p>\n \u201cWe caught a total monster. We took them out. And that should have happened a long time ago. We did it because they were looking to blow up our embassy,\u201d Trump\u00a0said during those initial remarks.<\/p>\n \u201cWe also did it for other reasons that were very obvious.\u00a0Somebody died\u2026 people were badly wounded just a week before.<\/strong> And we did it. We had a shot at it \u2026 that was the end of a monster,\u201d Trump added, referring to the death of the American contractor by Khatib Hezbollah.<\/p>\n Trump’s new claims have already resulted in push back from Congressional leaders briefed on the matter Wednesday.\u00a0Sen. Chris Murphy was the first to slam the new statements late Friday, saying\u00a0no such intelligence on planned embassy bombings was presented:<\/strong><\/p>\n https:\/\/twitter.com\/ChrisMurphyCT\/status\/1215751047391653891?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1215751047391653891&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fgeopolitical%2Ftrump-says-soleimani-plotted-bomb-attacks-4-us-embassies-intel-senators-balk<\/p>\n And yet, confusion persists within the administration itself, as CNN reported that<\/a>\u00a0“Earlier Thursday, administration officials had explained Trump\u2019s comments about the plot to blow up the US embassy by saying he was referring to the public demonstrations by Khatib Hezbollah.”<\/p>\n But in a separate Thursday\u00a0rally in Toledo, Ohio, the president made it clear it was more than mere violent embassy protests:\u00a0“Soleimani was actively planning new attacks, and he was looking very seriously at our embassies, and not just the embassy in Baghdad.” Trump added:\u00a0“But we stopped him, and we stopped him quickly, and we stopped him cold.”<\/p>\n The latest interview with the president will air Friday night at 10 p.m. ET on Fox’s\u00a0\u201cThe Ingraham Angle.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/zh-prod-1cc738ca-7d3b-4a72-b792-20bd8d8fa069.storage.googleapis.com\/s3fs-public\/styles\/inline_image_desktop\/public\/inline-images\/usmarinesiraqembass.jpg?itok=0qAHpk3U)