Pete Buttigieg said Sunday that terrorist Qasem Soleimani deserved death, but insisted Donald Trump does not deserve the credit for taking out the Iranian leader.

'You called Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian general who was killed, you called him a threat to the safety and security of the United States. So are you saying that President Trump deserves some credit for the strike?' CNN's Jake Tapper asked the presidential hopeful on Sunday morning.

'No, not until we know whether this was a good decision and how this decision was made. And the president has failed to demonstrate that,' Buttigieg responded.

'The secretary of state, just now, when asked whether this strike prevented directly an attack, he did not prove, he did not demonstrate, he did not even say that the answer was yes,' he said of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who appeared on State of the Union right before the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana.

Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg said Donald Trump doesn't deserve credit for taking out Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana called Soleimani a 'threat' and said American's shouldn't shed a tear over his death

'No, not until we know whether this was a good decision and how this decision was made. And the president has failed to demonstrate that,' Buttigieg told CNN's Jake Tapper (left) when asked if he gives Trump credit

Buttigieg, who served in the Navy from 2009-2017, said he wasn't sure the move to attack and kill Soleimani was the right strategic move.

'Now, let's be clear. Solemani was a bad figure, he has American blood on his hands,' Buttigieg continued. 'None of us should shed a tear for his death. But just because he deserved it, doesn't mean it was the right strategic move.'

Trump gave the directive to launch a drone attack on an airport in Baghdad, Iraq, which took out Soleimani, who was there Friday.

The airstrike came after the American embassy in Baghdad, which has never been breached before, was raided on New Years Eve by demonstrators who support Iran-backed Iraqi Shia militia.

The raid on the embassy and killing of Soleimani followed continued escalation in the region.

Buttigieg lost his status as an Indiana mayor when his successor was sworn in earlier this month – but has also risen to the top of the 2020 Democratic presidential field.

Soleimani (pictured) was killed when Trump directed an airstrike on an airport in Baghdad, Iraq following a breach of the U.S. embassy there by those who supported Iranian forces

The 37-year-old said he doesn't believe Trump thought through the consequences of what killing Soleimani would bring about.

Iran has already promised retaliation and Trump has threatened to attack more than 50 Iranian sites if they responded.

Buttigieg did not explicitly agree with fellow 2020 contenders that the attack was assassinated, but asserted that Congress should have been aware of the attack and why it was being carried out.

'Did the president have legal authority to do this? Why wasn't Congress consulted?' Buttigieg questioned. 'It seems more people at Mar-a-Lago heard about this than people in the United States Congress who are a co-equal branch of government.'

Buttigieg was referencing the president's West Palm Beach resort, where he spends most of his free time and vacations.