New book by WP journalists uncovers Iranian kill plots against Trump, Pompeo, and former officials

A new book by Washington Post journalists Josh Dawsey, Tyler Pager, and Isaac Arnsdorf reveals that Iran nearly succeeded in assassinating former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Paris in 2022 and later posed direct threats to Donald Trump and his campaign team during the 2024 presidential race.

According to “2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America,” the Trump campaign was informed by US intelligence officials in September 2023 that Iranian hit teams were actively operating inside the United States. The campaign immediately began altering schedules, travel methods, and physical security protocols in response to what became a campaign overshadowed by threats of violence, including two near-fatal assassination attempts on Trump himself.

Assassination attempt on Pompeo in Paris

In a previously undisclosed episode, Iranian operatives allegedly attempted to assassinate Mike Pompeo at a hotel in Paris in 2022. Though Pompeo narrowly escaped the plot, the book offers no further details. Pompeo had already been a known target—he previously wrote in his 2023 memoir Never Give an Inch that a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had offered $1 million to hire a contract killer to murder him. “Other Americans — some former Trump administration officials, some senior American military leaders — remain on the Iranian kill list,” Pompeo wrote. “Iran’s assassination campaigns have no expiration date.”

Security fears reshaped Trump’s 2024 campaign

The threat level escalated throughout 2024, culminating in two assassination attempts on Trump: one during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, in which he was grazed by a bullet, and another on September 15 in West Palm Beach, where a man allegedly pointed a rifle at a golf course where Trump was playing. While investigations into those incidents remain open, authorities have not confirmed any link to Iran.

National security officials briefed Trump on September 24, informing him that Iran had multiple hit teams inside the United States. Less than two months later, an Iranian asset was arrested for allegedly surveilling and planning to assassinate Trump.

The revelations offer new context to Trump’s controversial January 2025 airstrike against Iranian nuclear facilities. While it remains unclear how directly these threats influenced that decision, the security environment painted by the book suggests Iran was never far from the president’s mind.

Massive operational changes

In response to these threats, the Trump campaign made sweeping changes to logistics and movement. Trump occasionally flew on a decoy jet owned by real estate investor Steve Witkoff. Secret Service agents began using decoy planes, and campaign meetings were held at Mar-a-Lago rather than airports. At one point, a campaign staffer was warned to keep their head down while boarding a plane amid fears of a sniper attack. Bomb-detecting robots patrolled Mar-a-Lago’s grounds, and Trump’s office was equipped with a chemical weapons detection device.

Campaign political director James Blair, now deputy White House chief of staff, kept a military-issued armored vest under his desk. Armed security was stationed outside the Virginia home of senior adviser Chris LaCivita after multiple death threats. Some staff even brought firearms to the campaign office.

“Stay alive and win,” Trump reportedly said at one point. “Because if I don’t, we are f----ed.”

Trump’s пrowing frustration with federal security

Trump became increasingly frustrated with then–Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe, believing he was not forthcoming about Iran’s role in the threats. Trump eventually fired Rowe in February.

Top campaign adviser Susie Wiles, now chief of staff, expressed alarm in internal communications. In an email dated October 2, she requested a secure government plane with defensive systems—something akin to a Boeing 757 used by senior officials—but her request was denied.

A broader pattern of threats

The threats were not limited to Iran. In 2022, an Iranian dissident in Brooklyn was nearly assassinated by an IRGC-linked hitman. Iran has reportedly recruited members of Western criminal groups, including Hells Angels bikers, to carry out attacks on its enemies abroad.

Even while campaigning, Trump was briefed on threats ranging from poisoned phones and drones to unknown assailants breaching his security perimeter. The book recounts multiple episodes where agents intervened quickly, whether in response to a man stumbling toward Trump at Mar-a-Lago or a rogue drone tailing a campaign car in rural Pennsylvania.

Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater, was reportedly approached about arranging covert military protection from elite Delta Force operators—an idea that never materialised.

Final months of paranoia and resolve

The constant threat atmosphere took a personal toll. The book notes that Trump’s reduced ability to play golf—one of his preferred stress relievers—had his aides worried it could impact his mood and self-control on the trail.

In the end, Trump's mindset evolved from political ambition to a stark focus on survival. The campaign concluded with an atmosphere of siege, both physically and psychologically. And by the time of his January 2025 inauguration, Trump saw his reelection not only as a political comeback, but as a life-or-death necessity.

By Tamilla Hasanova