Before the assassination attempt on former U.S. President Donald Trump, U.S. intelligence agencies had detected and were investigating an Iranian assassination plot.
On Tuesday, The New York Times reported that several intelligence officials had disclosed their tracking of a potential Iranian plot to assassinate former President Trump. This surveillance had been ongoing for several weeks before last week’s shooting incident.
Officials have reported that this conclusion was reached based on various pieces of information gathered from multiple agencies. While Iran has historically targeted Americans, attempting to assassinate a former president who is actively campaigning would escalate tensions dramatically, carrying the risk of war. “This is why authorities are diligently working to determine whether the plot was merely aspirational or if there was a concrete plan in place,” they added.
In January 2020, during the Trump administration, Iran vowed retaliation after Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force, was assassinated by a U.S. drone. The Iranian government’s stated targets for retaliation included Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, National Security Advisor John Bolton, and National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien. In response, the Biden administration announced last year that it would continue to provide extensive security services to these individuals even after they left office.
However, the assassination plot by Iran is reportedly unrelated to last week’s shooting. According to the NYT, while Trump’s election campaign team heard from the Secret Service that threats had generally increased, they did not encounter any specific threats related to Iranian individuals or groups. During a briefing, Adrian Watson, a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, stated that the administration has been monitoring threats from Iran against officials from the Trump administration for years. He also noted that law enforcement has reported no connections between the shooter and any domestic or international accomplices.
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