US authorities recently received intelligence from a human source indicating an Iranian plot to assassinate Donald Trump. This development led the Secret Service to increase security around the former president in recent weeks, according to multiple individuals briefed on the matter, CNN reports.
However, sources stated that there is no evidence linking Thomas Matthew Crooks, the individual who attempted to kill Trump on Saturday, to this plot.
On Wednesday, Iran dismissed as “malicious” allegations made by US media claiming the country’s involvement in a plot to assassinate former President Donald Trump.
According to CNN’s report on Tuesday, US authorities had received intelligence weeks earlier from a “human source” about an alleged Iranian scheme targeting the former president. This prompted heightened security measures for Trump. Other US media outlets also covered the alleged plot.
CNN clarified that the purported plot was unrelated to the shooting incident at a Trump campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, where Trump was injured and a supporter was killed.
The US National Security Council stated that it had been monitoring Iranian threats against former Trump administration officials for several years, especially following Iran’s vows of retaliation after the 2020 US drone strike that killed Qasem Soleimani, a commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, in Iraq.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations labeled the accusations as “unsubstantiated and malicious.”
Nasser Kanani, spokesperson for Iran’s foreign ministry, declared Iran’s strong denial of any involvement in the recent attack on Trump. However, Kanani reiterated Iran’s determination to pursue legal action against Trump for his direct role in Soleimani’s assassination.
Soleimani was the leader of Iran’s Quds Force, overseeing military operations abroad for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in the Middle East. He was killed in a US drone strike near Baghdad airport, ordered by Trump.
Update
The U.S. Justice Department has charged a Pakistani man with alleged ties to the Iranian government for attempting political assassinations. FBI investigators believe the plot targeted Trump and other current and former U.S. officials.
A Pakistani national with connections to Iran has been charged in relation to a thwarted plot to assassinate a politician or U.S. government officials, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
The defendant is accused of traveling to New York City with the intention of hiring hitmen to carry out the murders on U.S. soil, as stated by the DOJ.
