The United States is hitting Iranian companies and eight senior officials with new sanctions, in response to Iranian missile attacks against bases housing U.S. forces in Iraq. Pressed for the rationale behind killing a top Iranian general last week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo insisted General Qassem Soleimani was plotting attacks on U.S. facilities. Pompeo is front and center in the current Middle East crisis, as President Donald Trump’s most powerful and influential national security adviser. VOA’s Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from the State Department.

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