Pentagon officials offered US President Donald Trump a list of other, less severe options for dealing with escalating tensions with Iran, The New York Times reported on Saturday.

Trump ultimately chose to target a senior Iranian military official, Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US airstrike late Thursday.

The other options included striking Iranian ships, missile facilities, or Iranian-backed militia groups in Iraq, The Times said.

Trump first chose to strike militia groups. He later elected to target Soleimani.

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Pentagon officials reportedly offered US President Donald Trump a list of options for dealing with escalating tensions with Iran. Trump ultimately chose to target a senior Iranian military official, Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US airstrike late Thursday.

The New York Times’ Helene Cooper, Eric Schmitt, Maggie Haberman, and Rukmini Callimachi reported on Saturday that Trump was given a “menu” of choices for dealing with Iranian-led violence against American targets in Iraq.

The options included striking Iranian ships, missile facilities, or Iranian-backed militia groups in Iraq, The Times said.

The officials offered the option of killing Soleimani mainly to make the others seem more appealing, which The Times described as a common tactic for US officials advising presidents.

Trump initially elected to strike the militia groups. On December 29, the US military struck three locations in Iraq and two in Syria controlled by an Iranian-backed militia, The Times also reported.

But after protesters supporting the militia stormed the US Embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday, Trump went for what The Times said was the “most extreme” option of targeting Soleimani. The Times noted that Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama had decided against targeting Soleimani because it was “too provocative.”

Trump authorised the strike on Thursday as Soleimani was leaving Baghdad’s international airport.

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