Orders drone strike killing Iranian General Qasem Soleimani

Trump authorized a drone strike near Baghdad International Airport that killed Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani, escalating tensions with Iran to the brink of war. Trump claimed Soleimani was plotting "imminent and sinister attacks" on American diplomats and military personnel, but his administration struggled to provide evidence of specific imminent threats when pressed by Congress. The strike was carried out without congressional authorization, prompting a War Powers Resolution to limit his military actions.

"Soleimani was plotting imminent and sinister attacks on American diplomats and military personnel, but we caught him in the act and terminated him." — Mar-a-Lago remarks, January 3, 2020