Article snippet: MORE on Friday defended his order to kill Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, saying he authorized the strike in Iraq “to stop a war” and that the top Iranian commander should have been targeted and killed “long ago.” “What the United States did yesterday should have been done long ago. A lot of lives would have been saved,” Trump said in a brief address from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla. “We took action last night to stop a war. We did not take action to start a war.” “Soleimani was plotting imminent and sinister attacks on American diplomats and military personnel, but we caught him in the act and terminated him,” the president added, describing the action as a “flawless, precision strike.” Trump’s statement, which lasted a few minutes and concluded without him taking questions, represented his first public remarks on the strike late Thursday. The address appeared to have been quickly scheduled, as it was not previously announced by the White House. The Pentagon confirmed Thursday night that Trump ordered a strike against Soleimani, who commanded Iran’s Quds Force, describing it as a defensive operation meant to deter future Iranian attacks that the top general was actively planning. Officials say Soleimani has been responsible for the death of hundreds of U.S. troops in the Middle East over the years. Trump emphasized Friday that his administration does not “seek regime change” in Iran but he called on Tehran to stop its destabilizing activity in t... Link to the full article to read more