Israel reportedly shared intelligence with the United States about a new Iranian plot to assassinate US President Donald Trump, according to a report published Thursday, July 9. The latest assassination plan, reported by the Wall Street Journal, comes after years of Iranian regime threats to kill Trump as revenge for the 2020 killing of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps General Qasem Soleimani by US forces.
White House Response and Trump's Remarks
When asked for comment, the White House referred to Trump's Wednesday remarks at the NATO summit in Ankara. “They want to take out the US leader — me,” Trump said. “I’m on whatever list. I saw this morning I’m on every single one of their lists. And so far, I guess I’ve been a bit lucky, but maybe that doesn’t last very long.”
“These are evil, sick people,” the president continued. “And we have to root out that cancer. That cancer. You know what you do? You’ve got to cut out cancer early. And that’s the way I feel.”
Security Measures and Plane Switch
Trump traveled to Turkey on his new Qatari “palace in the sky” plane, but took a different Air Force One home. The plane switch was a strategic “distraction” to keep the commander-in-chief safe, the White House said. War Secretary Pete Hegseth, who accompanied the president to the summit, was instructed not to travel to Israel as planned shortly before Trump chose to switch planes in Turkey. It is unclear if the Iranian threat extended to the war secretary.
Intelligence Sharing and Unverified Threat
The Israelis tipped the US off about the plot earlier this week. The specific threat was not being tracked by US officials before Israel’s warning and has yet to be vetted, CNN reported. The warning comes as tensions have emerged in President Donald Trump’s relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following the conflict with Iran.
Tensions Between Trump and Netanyahu
Trump on June 1 told Netanyahu he was “f–king crazy” over his attacks on Lebanon, fearing they would provoke more war with Iran. “You’d be in prison if it weren’t for me. I’m saving your ass. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this,” a US official summarized Trump’s comments, which the president later confirmed to The Post.
