A Kuwaiti media report claims that U.S. and Israeli leaders have resolved Obama-era differences, with the Trump administration giving Israel approval to kill a top Iranian general.
The report noted that U.S. intelligence agencies have signed off on an assassination plot to take out the senior Iranian responsible for coordinating military activity on behalf of the Islamic Republic in Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq, according to the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Jarida.
That commander is believed to be Iranian Revolutionary Guards al-Quds Force commander Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who has commanded the force for two decades. The Quds Force is part of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, which is responsible for military and clandestine operations outside of Iran.
Soleimani is a key figure in efforts to prop up Syrian President Bashar Assad and to enable him to retake cities and towns from rebel groups during the years-long civil war.
He is also responsible for providing military aid to the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah and the Palestinian Hamas in Gaza, as well as Shia and Kurdish groups in Iraq. Hezbollah and Hamas are Iranian proxies.
The Kuwaiti report claimed that the three years ago, Israel came close to assassinating Soleimani near Damascus, but the Obama administration, deeply involved in sealing its nuclear deal with the Iranians, tipped them off. Other reports have suggested that the Obama administration was so keen on making a deal with the Iranians that it overlooked and even obstructed efforts to clamp down on Iranian-backed terror organizations.
The Kuwaiti source, al-Jarida, has been known to publish fantastical stories involving Israel in the past. This particular report was widely picked up by Israeli media. [source]
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