The Trump administration does not believe Iran intentionally missed Americans when it fired ballistic missiles at two Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops, Vice President Mike Pence says.
Pence in a Thursday interview on Today responded to reports that certain officials believed Iran was intentionally not aiming for any casualties when it launched its retaliatory attack against the Iraqi bases this week, with CNN reporting Wednesday some in the administration think "Iran could have directed their missiles to hit areas that are populated by Americans — but specifically did not."
Pence disputed this on Thursday, saying the ballistic missiles "we believe were intended to kill Americans. We have intelligence to support that that was the intention of the Iranians."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
During his Today appearance, Pence also responded to a backlash from Democrats and some Republicans to a congressional briefing Wednesday on Trump's decision to order a drone strike killing Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, which Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) slammed as "insulting" and that Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said provided no new information that "I hadn't seen in a newspaper already."
In response to this criticism, Pence told Today the administration couldn't share "some of the most compelling evidence that Qassem Soleimani was preparing an imminent attack" because it would "compromise" sources. This answer, NBC News' Frank Thorp observed, "will not go over well with members of Congress (who have a security clearance) who left those briefings unsatisfied." Brendan Morrow
-
Australia’s teen social media ban takes effectSpeed Read Kids under age 16 are now barred from platforms including YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and Reddit
-
Judge orders release of Ghislaine Maxwell recordsSpeed Read The grand jury records from the 2019 prosecution of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein will be made public
-
Miami elects first Democratic mayor in 28 yearsSpeed Read Eileen Higgins, Miami’s first woman mayor, focused on affordability and Trump’s immigration crackdown in her campaign
-
Judge orders release of Ghislaine Maxwell records
Speed Read The grand jury records from the 2019 prosecution of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein will be made public
-
Miami elects first Democratic mayor in 28 years
Speed Read Eileen Higgins, Miami’s first woman mayor, focused on affordability and Trump’s immigration crackdown in her campaign
-
Ex-FBI agents sue Patel over protest firingspeed read The former FBI agents were fired for kneeling during a 2020 racial justice protest for ‘apolitical tactical reasons’
-
Trump unveils $12B bailout for tariff-hit farmersSpeed Read The president continues to insist that his tariff policy is working
-
Trump’s Comey case dealt new setbackspeed read A federal judge ruled that key evidence could not be used in an effort to reindict former FBI Director James Comey
-
Moscow cheers Trump’s new ‘America First’ strategyspeed read The president’s national security strategy seeks ‘strategic stability’ with Russia
-
Trump tightens restrictions for work visasSpeed Read The length of work permits for asylum seekers and refugees has been shortened from five years to 18 months
-
Supreme Court revives Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read Texas Republicans can use the congressional map they approved in August at President Donald Trump’s behest
