Israel has provided the United States with intelligence claiming that Iran recently developed a new plan to assassinate US President Donald Trump, according to two informed sources cited by CNN.
One source said the warning was delivered this week. Another said the United States had received a steady flow of intelligence in recent weeks concerning potential plots to assassinate Trump, but that the Israeli warning was new and focused on a specific alleged plot.
However, other US officials suggested that the Israeli intelligence report may have been an attempt to influence Trump’s decision-making as he considers whether to intensify US military action against Iran.
Two sources familiar with recent US intelligence said intelligence agencies had been monitoring the movements of parties that had discussed the possibility of carrying out attacks but had taken no concrete steps towards implementing them.
One of the sources also said that US intelligence agencies were concerned that Iran could potentially target a number of senior current and former officials.
The source said the Israeli report was viewed, at least in part, as one element of a broader Israeli effort to influence President Trump’s decision on Iran. The source added that some within the US intelligence community have consistently expressed scepticism towards intelligence reports originating from Israel.
Speaking to reporters last Wednesday, Trump said: “They want to eliminate the American leader, meaning me. My name is on every list. I saw this morning that I’m on every one of their lists. So far, I think I’ve been a little lucky, but maybe that won’t last long. They are evil and sick people, and we have to remove that cancer, that cancer. Do you know what has to be done? Cancer has to be removed at an early stage. That’s how I feel.”
The claims emerge as Trump weighs whether to expand US military action against Iran, while questions remain within parts of the American intelligence establishment over the credibility and possible political purpose of the Israeli intelligence report.
