Iran denies alleged assassination plot against Trump

In recent weeks, US authorities have received intelligence from a human source about an Iranian plot to assassinate Donald Trump.

This information prompted the Secret Service to enhance security measures around the former president, Caliber.Az reports citing the foreign media.

There is no evidence linking Thomas Matthew Crooks, who attempted to kill Trump on July 13, to this plot.

The intelligence threat from a hostile foreign agency and the resulting increased security for Trump highlight concerns about security lapses at the Saturday rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Questions have arisen about how a 20-year-old man accessed a nearby rooftop to fire shots, injuring the former president.

A US national security official confirmed that the Secret Service and the Trump campaign were informed of the threat prior to the July 13 rally.

The Trump campaign declined to reveal whether it was informed of the Iran threat, stating, "We do not comment on President Trump’s security detail. All questions should be directed to The United States Secret Service."

According to sources briefed on the matter, Secret Service officials have repeatedly cautioned the Trump campaign against holding outdoor rallies due to the increased risks compared to events with more controlled access. These warnings have been general rather than specific. The Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations denied any Iranian plot to assassinate Trump.

“These accusations are unsubstantiated and malicious. From the perspective of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Trump is a criminal who must be prosecuted and punished in a court of law for ordering the assassination of General Soleimani. Iran has chosen the legal path to bring him to justice,” a spokesperson for the mission told CNN, referencing Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Iranian military’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who was killed by a U.S. airstrike at Baghdad International Airport in January 2020.

CNN’s Fareed Zakaria pressed Iran’s acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani on the alleged Iranian assassination plot, asking in an interview if the plot was in retaliation for Soleimani’s killing, which took place during the Trump administration.