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Reuters Jason Reed
The Pentagon
NBC reported that US officials fear that retaliation for the assassination of the Iranian “Quds Force” commander Qassem Soleimani could affect senior Pentagon officials in the United States.
On Thursday, the network cited five senior US officials familiar with the matter who confirmed that military, CIA and FBI officials had denounced an alleged security risk facing top US defense officials, during remarks organized last month at the Headquarters of the State Department with the participation of a prominent official from El Pentagono.
The network claimed that the statements occurred in the context of a mysterious accident that a prominent Defense Ministry official was subjected to when leaving the Pentagon headquarters on the night of September 22.
The Pentagon said in a report on the accident, according to the network, that another car with Virginia-registered license plates accompanied the official’s car for a short distance in a range of five to seven miles, and its driver, who later became known as a citizen. Iranian, drove the car sometimes “ aggressively ”.
Officials noted that the Pentagon issued a security alert on the incident and exchanged information about it with law enforcement agencies.
The network confirmed that there are differences between the Pentagon and the FBI regarding the severity of the accident and whether it represents an attempt to attack the defense official, noting that the Defense Ministry expressed greater concern about the issue, while the FBI investigation concluded that the incident was not part of any larger plot directed against army commanders. It has nothing to do directly with Iran.
Officials noted that during the aforementioned testimonies, officials searched for information about the Iranian driver’s accounts on social media, indicating that he had friends in Iran and Afghanistan.
Officials did not disclose whether authorities questioned or arrested the Iranian driver in connection with the accident.
Some officials said these statements suggested that there is a risk of retaliation within the United States for the murder of Soleimani, who was killed in a US raid near the Baghdad airport earlier this year.
The network clarified that the officials in the testimonies suggested that the alleged danger threatens the prominent military personnel who had a role in the decision to assassinate Soleimani and the implementation of the operation, and they spoke about an alleged list that includes the names of the military leaders that represent possible targets.
Source: NBC
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