"Horrible, Evil Genius": Trump Recalls Killing Of Iran's Qasem Soleimani

US President Donald Trump, in his address on Thursday, recalled the killing of top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani during his first term in 2020, saying the situation in Tehran would have "unfolded differently" this time had he been alive. LIVE UPDATES

According to Trump, Soleimani was an "evil genius" and a "brilliant person" but a "horrible human being". Trump also referred to Soleimani as the "father of the roadside bomb" - a term he has repeatedly used for the assassinated Iranian commander.

"I did many things during my two terms in office to stop the quest for nuclear weapons by Iran first, and perhaps most importantly, I killed General Qasem Soleimani in my first term. He was an evil genius, a brilliant person, a horrible human being however, the father of the roadside bomb, and he lived just horribly, what he did. Iran would have been perhaps in a far better, stronger position," Trump said.

However, Trump believes the US still would have won the war.

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"Had he (Soleimani) lived, we would have had probably a different conversation tonight, but you know what? We'd still be winning and winning big," he said.

.@POTUS on the steps he's taken against Iran, such as the killing of Qasem Soleimani and his termination of Barack Obama's Iran nuclear deal:

"Essentially, I did what no other president was willing to do—they made mistakes, and I am correcting them." pic.twitter.com/LOV20Cb54G

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 2, 2026

Qasem Soleimani, the former Iran's Revolutionary Guards commander, was killed in a US strike in January 2020. He was one of the most popular figures in Iran and was seen as a deadly adversary by America and its allies. Soleimani, who headed the external operations Quds Force for the Guards, had wielded his regional clout publicly since 2018, when it was revealed that he had direct involvement in top-level talks over the formation of Iraq's government.

Trump also took a jibe at former US President Barack Obama, calling his Iran nuclear deal a "disaster".

"Obama gave them $1.7 billion in cash, green, green cash. Took it out of banks from Virginia, DC, and Maryland, all the cash they had. He flew it by airplane in an attempt to buy their respect and loyalty, but it didn't work. They laughed at our president and went on with their mission to have a nuclear bomb," he said.

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According to Trump, Obama's Iran deal would have led to a "colossal arsenal of massive nuclear weapons for Iran". 

"They would have had them years ago, and they would have used them. Would have been a different world. There would have been no Middle East and no Israel right now, in my opinion, the opinion of a lot of great experts. Had I not terminated that terrible deal, I was so honored to do it. I was so proud to do it. It was so bad right from the beginning. Essentially, I did what no other president was willing to do. They made mistakes, and I am correcting them," Trump added.