The Washington Post, Reuters, and AP quoted the officials as saying on January 10 that an air strike targeted Abdul Reza Shahlai, a senior officer in the elite Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
They said the failed strike was carried out on January 3 — the same day the leader of the Quds Force — Major General Qasem Soleimani — was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad.
The killing has raised fears of a conflict between the United States and Iran.
The Pentagon declined to discuss the classified operation in Yemen, where a a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia, a U.S. ally, has been fighting Iran-backed Shi’ite Huthi rebels since 2015.
The Quds Force was designated a terrorist organization by the United States.