As tensions between Washington and Tehran spiral into a fresh military confrontation, reports of an alleged Iranian assassination plot targeting United States President Donald Trump have added a new dimension to the conflict, raising questions over whether the intelligence warning influenced the White House’s decision to resume strikes against Iran.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Israeli intelligence recently shared an assessment with the United States claiming that Iran had been preparing a fresh plot to assassinate Trump. The alleged warning reached Washington just days after Trump publicly claimed that he had learned he was at the top of Iran’s assassination list.
The intelligence surfaced at a critical juncture, with the United States renewing its strikes over Iran after accusing it of attacking commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
While there is no evidence that the warning directly prompted American action, US officials told CNN that some within the administration believed the intelligence may have been intended to shape Trump’s thinking as he considered expanding military operations against Tehran.
CNN reported that US intelligence agencies had already been tracking a steady flow of information in recent weeks, pointing to possible threats against Trump. However, officials described the Israeli assessment as the first to identify a specific alleged assassination plot.
The report also noted that US agencies had neither independently verified the intelligence nor been monitoring the specific threat before Israel conveyed the information.
For years, Iran has vowed to avenge the killing of Qassem Soleimani, the former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, who was assassinated in a US strike ordered by Trump during his first term.
The intelligence warning coincided with a dramatic deterioration in US-Iran relations.
On Wednesday, Trump declared the 60-day ceasefire outlined in the memorandum of understanding (MOU) “over" after accusing Iran of attacking commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
Within hours, the United States launched a fresh round of military strikes near the strategic waterway, targeting Iranian infrastructure for the first time in months and signalling a renewed phase of the conflict.
Iran responded with strikes on US military bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, while maintaining that it would continue asserting its control over the Strait of Hormuz despite mounting international pressure.
Speaking to reporters in Ankara on Wednesday, Trump alluded to threats against his life.
“They want to take out the U.S. leader—me," he said. “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. These are evil, sick people. 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," he said.
The sequence of events has prompted renewed scrutiny over Israel’s influence on Washington’s approach to the conflict.
According to media, some American officials viewed the intelligence shared by Israel not merely as a security assessment but also as a possible attempt to sway Trump’s decision on whether to intensify military action against Iran.
Former US Marine Corps officer Dan Grazier said it was “definitely possible" that Israel was behind the latest attacks targeting multiple sites in Iran.
“It’s certainly possible that Israel could be behind whatever military actions are going on right now. I guess we’re going to have to wait for confirmation from them," Grazier told Al Jazeera.
He also pointed to the close military coordination between Washington and Tel Aviv throughout the conflict.
“I have to imagine that the United States, Donald Trump in particular, would take responsibility if it was the United States. But so far, Israel and the United States have been working kind of hand-in-hand throughout the whole course of this conflict, going all the way back to the end of February. It’s definitely possible that the Israelis could be responsible for what’s happening today," Grazier added.
Although no direct link has been established between the alleged assassination intelligence and Trump’s decision to resume military operations, the timing of the warning has intensified speculation over the extent to which Israeli intelligence may have shaped Washington’s latest moves against Iran.
Source: News18