United States intelligence has alerted former President Donald Trump to threats from Iran aimed at assassinating him, according to his campaign team.
The Republican presidential candidate was briefed about “real and specific threats from Iran to assassinate him in an effort to destabilize and sow chaos in the United States,” as stated in a campaign announcement.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Trump remarked on the “big threats on my life from Iran,” asserting, “Moves were already made by Iran that didn’t work out, but they will try again.”
He characterized any attack on him as a “death wish by the attacker” and expressed gratitude to Congress for approving additional funding for the Secret Service.
“Intelligence officials have identified that these continued and coordinated threats have escalated in recent months,” said Steven Cheung, the Trump campaign’s communications director.
He added, “Law enforcement officials across all agencies are working diligently to ensure President Trump is protected and that the election remains free from interference.”
The Trump campaign did not provide further details, and it remains unclear whether these threats are newly identified or previously reported.
The Iranian government has yet to respond to a request for comment but has previously denied U.S. accusations of interference in American affairs.
The BBC has reached out to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in the U.S. for a statement.
These warnings come in the wake of an assassination attempt on Trump on July 13, when he was injured and another person was killed during a shooting at a rally in Pennsylvania. The motive for that incident remains undetermined and is still under investigation.
Days after the rally, U.S. media reported that officials had received intelligence about an alleged Iranian plot against the former president. Iranian officials dismissed those allegations as “malicious,” according to CBS News.
“If they do ‘assassinate President Trump,’ which is always a possibility, I hope that America obliterates Iran and wipes it off the face of the earth. If that does not happen, American leaders will be considered ‘gutless’ cowards!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform at the time.
On September 15, a Secret Service agent spotted a rifle poking through a fence at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. The agent fired shots as Trump played a round of golf.
U.S. prosecutors have charged Ryan Wesley Routh, a man arrested near the golf course, with the attempted assassination of a presidential candidate.
However, there has been no indication that Iran was involved in either incident.
