According to a video posted on Fox News on Wednesday 15, 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump defended his decision to order the killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani during his first term, calling him a “mad genius” whose removal was necessary.
Speaking alongside Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani during a White House press event, Trump was asked about regrets tied to recent tensions with Iran.
He turned the conversation to 2020, when a U.S. strike killed Soleimani, the head of Iran’s Quds Force, near Baghdad’s airport.
Trump said the strike also killed a senior Iraqi figure who happened to be meeting Soleimani at the time, an outcome he said he had never directly discussed with the Iraqi prime minister.
He described Soleimani as a highly capable but dangerous figure who held significant control over Iran’s military operations, and suggested that removing him changed the course of events that followed.
Trump connected the decision to years of American casualties in the region, including soldiers killed or severely injured by roadside bombs.
In his words, Trump said, “I killed him in my first administration. Had I not, it might be a different story today. He was a mad genius. “He was probably a mad man, but he was a general and he had total control over the country,” he said.
Trump went on to argue that Iran’s overall military strength has since collapsed to a fraction of its former levels, a development he linked to reduced fear across the Middle East.
He said this shift has allowed countries in the region, including Iraq, to pursue stronger economic and political cooperation with the United States without concern over Iranian pressure.
The president also used the moment to highlight growing U.S. oil investment in Iraq, saying American companies are now entering the country at levels not seen before, partly as a result of the changed regional security picture following years of confrontation with Tehran…See_More
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