Reports: Israeli intel warn US of Iran’s plot to assassinate Trump
Israel has shared fresh intelligence with the US alleging that Iran recently developed a new plan to assassinate US President Donald Trump, according to multiple media reports.The Wall Street Journal reported that Israel passed the intelligence to US officials this week. Concurrently, CNN, citing two sources familiar with the matter, reported that the warning was delivered this week and referred to a specific alleged plot. While the exact details of the purported plan remain unclear, CNN reported that US agencies had not independently verified the intelligence or been tracking the alleged plot before Israel’s warning.According to CNN, some US officials believe the Israeli intelligence may also be part of a broader effort by Israel to influence Trump’s decision on whether to intensify American military action against Iran. One source told the broadcaster that US intelligence has been monitoring a steady flow of threats against Trump in recent weeks, but described the Israeli warning as new because it referred to a specific alleged plan.The White House declined to comment directly on the reported intelligence, referring both The Wall Street Journal and CNN to remarks Trump made on Wednesday while speaking to reporters in Ankara. “They want to take out the US leader, me,” Trump said during the press briefing. “I’m on every list. I saw this morning, I’m on every single one of their lists. And so far, I guess I’ve been a little bit lucky, but that maybe doesn’t last very long.” Later, Trump also said he had recently learned of a new list ranking him as Iran’s top assassination target. However, it remains unclear whether he was referring to the specific Israeli intelligence cited in the reports.The reports also emerge against the backdrop of growing differences between Trump and Israeli PM Netanyahu over the direction of the conflict with Iran. According to The Wall Street Journal, Netanyahu has argued for continuing military operations against Iran to achieve additional war objectives, while Trump has sought an exit from the conflict over concerns about its wider economic consequences. ani