State Department security officials weren't notified of 'imminent' threats to US embassies

— State Department officials involved in US embassy security were not made aware of imminent threats to four specific US embassies, two State Department officials tell CNN, further undermining President Donald Trump's claims that the top Iranian general he ordered killed earlier this monthWithout knowledge of any alleged threats, the State Department didn't issue warnings about specific dangers to any US embassy before the administration targeted Qasem Soleimani, Iran's second most...

But State Department officials remain in the dark about the specific nature of that threat, the sources said. These officials also say the State Department did not produce the analysis that US embassies in the Middle East faced an imminent threat, the legally required threshold to justify Soleimani's killing.

"Judging from the type and intensity of the strike, the regime certainly must now understand what we will do if they ever again pose risk to American lives," Pompeo said during a speech at Stanford's Hoover Institution."If Iran escalates, we will end it on our terms." CNN reached out to eight embassies in the region, including Baghdad, to see if they received specific threat warnings about any plot to blow up their posts. Only two replied, stating they got the worldwide security warning that was sent to all the US embassies about a"potential escalation threat" following the death of a US contractor in a rocket attack in Iraq by Iranian proxies.

Trump's National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien said"very reasonable security precautions" were taken, but suggested no specific warning was given to the embassy in Baghdad. The spokesperson also wouldn't say if specific US embassies in the Middle East were warned they could face bombings. The source said the State Department was working around the clock with embassies worldwide, even calling them, to be sure that they heeded the warnings. But this source said State was not aware that four specific US embassies faced a particular threat.

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