Since Friday, additional reporting from The New York Times' Rukmini Callimachi indicated that even the underlying intelligence the Trump administration has cited as necessitiating the strike against Soleimani is "razor thin."

Callimachi reported that sources told her evidence indicating that could be broken down into three facts:

• Travel records showing Soleimani was in Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq to meet with Shia proxies who have an offensive position to the US, which one source said was "business as usual" for the Iranian general.

• Information showing that Soleimani sought the Supreme Leader's approval for an operation and was instructed to "come to Tehran for consultation and further guidance, suggesting the operation was a big deal."

• Iran has had, during Trump's time in office, an increasingly tense relationship with the US. That recently manifested in protests outside the US embassy in Iraq and an attack that killed a US contractor.

But, Callimachi reported, one source told her those factors are not evidence of an "imminent" attack on US interests that could kill hundreds, as the White House claims. "The official describes the reading of the intelligence as an illogical leap," she reported.