Israel Shares Intelligence on Alleged Iranian Assassination Plot Against Trump
In the weeks following the United States' renewed strikes on Iran and amid the funeral procession of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Israel shared new intelligence with the Pentagon indicating that Tehran was again plotting to assassinate US President Donald Trump, according to US media reports.
The intelligence, reported by CNN, adds another layer of tension between Washington and Tehran as a fragile ceasefire between the countries comes under strain. One source told CNN that the warning about an alleged assassination plan came this week, while another source said US intelligence had detected a steady hum of such plans in recent weeks, but the Israeli warning was new and concerned a specific plot.
However, some American officials have expressed concern that the Israeli intelligence might be an effort to sway Trump's decision-making as he considered whether to intensify military action against Iran or continue with the ceasefire plan. Details of the Israeli warning remain unclear, and the United States has not independently vetted the information, nor was it tracking the plot before the Israeli warning.
Iran has long threatened retaliation against Trump for the US role in the 2020 assassination of Qassem Soleimani, a top general of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. During the funeral procession for Khamenei and other family members killed in the February 28 US-Israeli strikes, mourners chanted for Trump's death and displayed a banner reading 'We Will Kill Trump.'
Trump himself alluded to the threat this week, telling reporters in Ankara during a NATO summit: 'They want to take out the US leader—me. I'm on every list. I saw this morning I'm on every single one of their lists. And so far, I guess I've been a little bit lucky, but that maybe doesn't last very long.'
Relations between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have thawed in recent weeks after they turned icy over diverging interests regarding the Iran war. Netanyahu has advocated for continuing the conflict to achieve further war aims, while Trump has sought a way out, citing concerns about the global economy. The US and Iran struck a fragile ceasefire last month, but tensions remain high.
On Thursday, Trump and Netanyahu spoke again, with the Israeli prime minister's office stating that Washington and Tel Aviv agreed to continue coordination, and Trump updated Netanyahu on recent US activity in the Gulf.
