The assassination of the martyr Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Iranian Quds Force, was not part of US President Donald Trump's plan. Rather, many previous reports indicated that the Saudis, as part of their open and undeclared war with Iran, wanted to implement this option against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The New York Times, in November 2018, revealed for the first time in an interview with people close to "Mohammed bin Salman" about plots to assassinate what it described as "enemies of Saudi Arabia."

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also referred to the involvement of some countries in the assassination, but he did not say the names of those countries, he mentioned "the involvement of some small countries in the region" in the cowardly assassination.

During the first hours following the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, the US State Department announced a call by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, he thanked bin Salman for “Riyadh’s continued support to Washington, and its awareness about ggressive threats by the Quds Force." The call prompted many to wonder about why Pompeo thanked the Saudi crown prince at that time.

But a Saudi official told AFP that "America has not consulted with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia about the attack on Soleimani. the Kingdom stresses the importance of self-control to prevent any action that could lead to an escalation.