'This is over the top': Lindsey Graham and Mick Mulvaney begged Trump not to kill Iran's top general, but 4 days later he did it anyway, according to Woodward's new book

• Two of President Donald Trump's closest advisers desperately tried to stop him from ordering the military strike that killed Iran's Gen. Qassem Soleimani and brought the countries to the brink of war in January, according to Bob Woodward's upcoming book.
• South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of the most hawkish US lawmakers, told Trump, "Mr. President, this is over the top," the book says. He added that "with the election coming," Trump should temper his response and avoid risking "major war."
• Graham wasn't the only one concerned. Mick Mulvaney, Trump's chief of staff at the time, made an "urgent request" and "almost begged" Graham to "stop this talk of hitting Soleimani," the book says.
• Four days later, Trump ordered the strike. And despite Graham's reported reservations about the strike, he publicly supported the president's decision.
• "The intelligence was very strong that Soleimani was orchestrating chaos in Iraq at our expense and throughout the region," Graham told "Fox & Friends" in January. "The president was informed of these potential attacks, and he acted."

Two of President Donald Trump's top advisers desperately tried to stop him from ordering the assassination of Iran's highest-ranking military official, Gen. Qassem Soleimani, in the days leading up to the strike on January 3, according to the veteran journalist Bob Woodward's upcoming book, "Rage."

Insider obtained an early copy of the book, which is set to be released next Tuesday.

Woodward reported that on December 30, Trump told South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, "I'm thinking of hitting Soleimani," the leader of Iran's hardline paramilitary force that supports militants that attack US troops.

Trump and Graham were playing golf at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, when Trump floated the idea.

"Oh boy, that's a giant step!" Graham replied, apparently unnerved by Trump's suggestion, the book says.

The South Carolina senator told Trump that if he ordered Soleimani's assassination, he would also have to plan what steps to take if Iran escalated the conflict.

"If they retaliate in some way, which they will, you've got to be willing to take out the oil refineries," he said. But he added that if Trump did that, "this will be almost total war!"

"You kill him, new game. You go from playing $10 blackjack to $10,000-a-hand blackjack," Graham cautioned.

"He deserves it," Trump said of Soleimani, according to the book. "We have all these intercepts showing that Soleimani is planning attacks."

Graham pushed back, saying Soleimani has "always been doing that." He added that Trump had to consider his response and what Iran might do in retaliation, especially "with the election coming."

"That risks major war," Graham said.

Trump then brought up the Iranian-led missile strikes that had killed an American contractor in Iraq on December 27. The day after Trump and Graham's conversation, pro-Iranian militias stormed the US Embassy in Baghdad.

"We're not going to let them get away with this," the president said.

Graham still urged extreme caution, telling Trump: "Mr. President, this is over the top. How about hitting someone a level below Soleimani, which would be much easier for everyone to absorb?"

It was a stunning statement from Graham, one of the most hawkish members of Congress who frequently urges more US military intervention on foreign soil.

Woodward reported that Graham wasn't the only one who was concerned. Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff at the time, also made an "urgent request" to the South Carolina senator.

"You've got to find a way to stop this talk of hitting Soleimani, Mulvaney almost begged," the book said. "Perhaps he'll listen to you."

Four days later, Woodward wrote, Trump ordered the strike.

Despite Graham's reported reservations about the strike, he publicly supported the president's decision.

"This was a preemptive, defensive strike planned to take out the organizer of attacks yet to come," Graham said during a "Fox & Friends" interview on January 3. "The intelligence was very strong that Soleimani was orchestrating chaos in Iraq at our expense and throughout the region. The president was informed of these potential attacks, and he acted."

The Trump administration has not made public evidence that Soleimani posed an imminent threat to US forces in the region, which was its primary justification for the strike.

Though it's widely agreed Soleimani was a nefarious actor who was responsible for the deaths of US troops, Trump's decision to order the drone strike that killed him was highly controversial. It was a move that Trump's immediate predecessors, Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, both avoided, knowing that the consequences could be catastrophic.

The New York Times reported that the Pentagon had included Soleimani's assassination on a list of possible responses to make the other options seem less extreme.

The Soleimani strike pushed the US and Iran to the brink of war. Iran retaliated with a missile attack that left dozens of US troops seriously injured. Trump initially and misleadingly said there were no casualties.

Iran and the US ultimately backed away from a wider conflict, but tensions remain. Shortly after the strike, Iran essentially abandoned the 2015 nuclear deal, which Trump withdrew the US from in May 2018.

The Trump administration has continued to push for European allies to embrace its "maximum pressure" campaign, aimed at squeezing Iran into negotiating a more stringent version of the 2015 deal, but has had little to no success.