Mark Esper's admission calls into question Donald Trump's justification for the killing of Iran's top general Qassem Soleimani.
The US Defence Secretary says he did not see specific evidence from intelligence officials that Iran was planning to attack four US embassies.
While Defence Secretary Mark Esper said he agreed with Trump that additional attacks against US embassies were likely, he told CBS that Trump's remarks about imminent attacks on four embassies, made to Fox News, were not based on specific evidence. White House officials have claimed Soleimani was targeted because of an imminent risk of attacks on American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region.
Trump said on Friday Iran probably had targeted the US embassy in Baghdad and was aiming to attack four US embassies before Soleimani was killed in an American drone strike on January 3.
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