The Secret Service from United States Increased security for Republican presidential candidate after intelligence gathered alleged information about a plot that Iran planned to kill Donald Trump and agents knew about it, people familiar with the matter revealed.
Until now There is no indication that there was any link between the Iranian plot and Thomas Matthew Crooks, the alleged attacker of Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, July 13. Sniper teams killed Crooks seconds after he opened fire.
The Iranian threat appeared to be linked to a broader pattern of threats against former Trump administration officials stemming from the January 2020 killing of Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Biden administration said. He was killed in a drone strike ordered by Trump.
“We have been tracking Iranian threats against former Trump administration officials for years, dating back to the last administration,” National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a statement released Tuesday.
“These threats stem from Iran’s desire to seek revenge” for killing Soleimani, he added.
Before Saturday’s incident occurred, the White House contacted the Secret Service about the recent Iranian threat and shared that information with the Trump campaignaccording to one of the people. The Secret Service subsequently increased resources and assets for Trump’s protection, the person said.
But a person familiar with the Trump campaign’s conversations with the Secret Service said agency leaders briefed campaign officials on a general increase in threats against the former presidentbut without making them aware of any specific ones linked to Iranian groups.
What does Iran say about this?
Iran said in a social media post on X that reports of His involvement in a plot against Trump is unfounded.
Even CNN, which had previously reported on the Iranian plot, said the intelligence about the plan came from a human source. But the Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment.
The Secret Service and its chief, Kimberly Cheatle, have come under intense scrutiny since Trump’s extremely close call in Pennsylvania over the weekend.
Even Cheatle noted in an interview on ABC News that the agency’s failure was “unacceptable,” but he does not plan to resign. While President Joe Biden called for an independent review of the shooting which claimed the life of one person.
The United States has maintained security details for several Trump administration officials, including former Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and John Bolton, who served as national security adviser. In 2022, the Justice Department charged a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in connection with an alleged plot to assassinate Bolton.
During that same year, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan warned that Iran was threatening to “carry out terrorist operations inside the United States and elsewhere in the world”He also warned that Iran would face “serious consequences” if anyone was attacked.
“The investigation into the attack on Trump is active and ongoing,” the NSC’s Watson said in the statement. “At this time, law enforcement has advised that their investigation has not identified links between the shooter and any foreign or domestic accomplices.”
