President Donald Trump told a crowd of supporters Friday night about the moments leading up to the death of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.
Trump was shown satellite footage of Soleimani’s armored car and was told the terrorist leader had just over two minutes left to live. Trump also told a fundraising dinner at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida that he had been listening-in on Soleimani’s conversations and the Iranian had been “saying bad things about our country” right to the very end, according to a tape obtained by CNN.
The president apparently grew impatient with the discourse and asked security officials present in the room with him, “How much of this shit do we have to listen to? How much are we going to listen to?” (RELATED: Iranian MP Urges Attack On White House)
The president told supporters: “He was supposed to be invincible. He said bad things about our country. He was saying things like we’re going to attack your country. We’re going to kill your people.”
As the missile approached Soleimani’s vehicle, Trump, who ordered the drone strike, was told how much time the Quds Force commander had left on this earth.
“They said, ‘Sir,’ and this is from cameras that are miles in the sky, ‘They’re together, sir. Sir, they have two minutes and 11 seconds.’ No bullshit. ‘They have two minutes and 11 seconds to live, sir. They’re in the car. They’re in an armored vehicle going. Sir, they have approximately one minute to live, sir. Thirty seconds, 10, 9, 8.'”
“Then, all of a sudden, boom. ‘They’re gone, sir. Cutting off.'”
“I said, ‘where is this guy?'” Trump continued. “That was the last I heard from them.” (RELATED: Trump Reluctant To Share Intelligence With Democrats Because of ‘Crooked, Corrupt’ Adam Schiff)
(Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)
Following the attack, the Iranian government has increasingly been at war with its own people, with Iranian security forces reportedly firing tear gas, rubber bullets, and live ammunition on protesters in the streets Sunday who are demonstrating against the regime.
Many Iranians are angry about their government shooting down a Ukrainian aircraft after it left the Tehran airport.
Although there is disagreement on whether Soleimani was planning imminent attacks against United States installations and personnel, Trump said this week that “it doesn’t really matter” because the terrorist leader had already been responsible for American deaths.