United States Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Sunday disclosed that he wasn't aware of any specific proof that Iran was planning to attack four American consulates as US President Donald Trump had claimed.
In an interview with CBS Face The Nation, Esper said: "I did not see one, with regard the attack on four US embassies." The Defense Chief pointed out that what he was trying to say was that he shares Trump's view that perhaps his expectation was Iran was going to target our embassies -- the most prominent figure of US presence in a country.
Pentagon officials said that it had intelligence reports that an attack would take place "within a matter of days that would be massive in scale, meaning, more than one country."
With regards the four US consulates, what Trump said, according to Esper in an interview with CNN, is what he really believed was that Iran might have been aiming for the region's embassies. When asked to state further what made the Pentagon reach that conclusion, Esper said he will not be discussing intelligence issues on live television.
Esper was not the only senior defense official who sought to tone down reports that there was a solid proof of a clear and present threat to four US embassies.
National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien, in an interview with Fox News on Sunday, said Trump's assertion was consistent with the Pentagon's "intelligence" but also emphasized there was nothing specifically that points to that.
For O'Brien, it is always hard to find out precisely what the priorities are, even with the excellent knowledge that the United States possess. He added that they are aware that American assets came under missile attack, and whether they were embassies or military installations, it's always tough "until the attack happens."
The see-saw assertions coming from top US defense officials is likely to only raise the White House suspicion that it believes there was sufficient evidence to conclude that US servicemen faced an imminent threat.
Though many White House figures have tried to veer away from providing more specifics, Trump claimed on Friday that Iran was planning to attack four US embassies. Other administration officials disclosed in a briefing that neither Secretary of State Mike Pompeo nor Esper mentioned four embassies.
Meanwhile, Connecticut-Democrat Senator Chris Murphy tweeted that, for clarification, if there were any concrete proof an an imminent attack on the four embassies, as mentioned, "Trumps' administration would have disclosed that during our briefing on Wednesday."
