WASHINGTON—Backtracking in light of recent polls that indicate public dismay over his handling of Iran, President Trump announced Wednesday he was moving forward with a plan to reverse the killing of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. “I have overturned the decision to assassinate Gen. Soleimani and ordered our military to rescind the Jan. 3 drone strike that destroyed his convoy at Baghdad International Airport,” said Trump, who explained the move would revoke Soleimani’s status as a Shiite martyr and decrease the likelihood of the United States being drawn into an unpopular war with Iran. “The U.S. Air Force operation that killed the general was conducted without the consent of Congress and, more significantly, without the backing of the American people. So today our forces in the region will take immediate action to return Soleimani to his family unexploded. This doesn’t mean we won’t take him out in a future operation if surveys indicate a majority of swing-state voters approve of such an action, but for now we will allow him to resume command of the Quds Force.” The president added that he has yet to see any polls that would convince him to retract his October decision to let Turkey kill hundreds of Kurdish civilians in Syria.

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