Vice President Mike Pence made the rounds on the morning shows to defend President Donald Trumpâs military actions regarding Iran.
In an interview on NBCâs âToday Showâ on Thursday, Pence was asked if the drone strike that killed Soleimani âeradicatedâ what intelligence officials said was an imminent threat, he responded that the threat of Soleimaniâs leadership âis gone.â
âWell, the threat of Soleimaniâs leadership is gone. And make no mistake about it, for the last 20 years Qasem Soleimani led the Quds Force, the , the terrorist arm of Iran that sowed violence all across the region.â
Watch Penceâs interview below:
Pence added that he hopes Trumpâs decision to order the strike on Soleimani has ârestored deterrence.â
âThe Iranians always knew we had the ability to use military force. But what they know now, thanks to the presidentâs decisive leadership, is that we have a Commander-in-Chief that has the will to use military force. We hope that has restored deterrence. We hope that Iranâs efforts to stand down will continue.â
Turning to an intelligence briefing about the Iran situation delivered to lawmakers on Wednesday â which Sen. Mike Lee described as âprobably the worst briefingâ he has received on military issues â Guthrie asked why lawmakers couldnât receive more information about the threat in a classified setting.
âWell, some of that has to do with whatâs called âsources and methods,â Savannah. That if we were to share all of the evidence â and in fact, some of the most compelling evidence that Qasem Soleimani was preparing an imminent attack against American forces and personnel also represents some of the most sensitive information that we have â it could compromise those sources and methods.â
Pence continued to say that he respects Lee, but having seen the evidence âin real-time,â he believes that Trump âmade the right decisionâ to authorize the strike on Soleimani.
Lee voiced his frustration with the briefing, saying top national security officials urged lawmakers to avoid debating a war powers resolution, adding that he felt it was âinsulting and demeaning,â as IJR has previously reported.
