The Iranian Foreign Ministry has denied new allegations from the United States that it recently picked up increased chatter about the possibility of an assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump.
Nasser Kanaani, the spokesman for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, denied the U.S.’s allegation of a potential plot, though he did note Iran “is determined to pursue legal action against Trump for his direct role in the crime of assassinating” Qassem Soleimani.
On Tuesday, it was reported that the Biden administration’s National Security Council was concerned about the “increased threat,” so they informed U.S. Secret Service, which added more resources to the former president’s detail, according to a U.S. national security official.
This purported threat to Trump’s life emanating from the Middle East is not believed to be related to last weekend’s assassination attempt against him, while the additional resources were not enough to stop the 20-year-old from shooting at the former president during his rally last Saturday in Pennsylvania.
Iran has sought revenge for the U.S. military’s assassination of Soleimani, who led the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force for years, and U.S. officials have warned they are looking to do that by targeting officials of the Trump administration, which was in power when the strike took place in 2020.
“As we have said many times, we have been tracking Iranian threats against former Trump administration officials for years, dating back to the last administration,” National Security Council coordinator Adrienne Watson told the Washington Examiner. “These threats arise from Iran’s desire to seek revenge for the killing of Qassem Soleimani. We consider this a national and homeland security matter of the highest priority.”
Soleimani, who was assassinated in Iraq in January 2020, was the head of the IRGC and its specialized Quds Force, which the U.S. considers responsible for the deaths of over 600 U.S. soldiers during the Iraq War.
Lucas Webber, the founder of the Militant Wire research network and a research fellow at the Soufan Center, told the Washington Examiner that Soleimani’s strike is a “major grievance” for Iran, and there is now “legacy in the hostile sentiments that come from the Soleimani operation.”
Trump is not the only former official believed to be a potential target for the Iranians. U.S. officials have identified former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former Iran envoy Brian Hook, and former Trump national security adviser John Bolton as possible targets.
The Justice Department unsealed charges in August 2022 accusing Shahram Poursafi, an Iranian national and IRGC member, of attempting to arrange the murder of Bolton. Poursafi was accused of agreeing to pay an informant $300,000 to kill him, and the Iranian noted he had an additional “job” for the individual, which he’d pay $1 million for the source to accomplish.
This long-documented threat toward the former president became more heightened recently, and it prompted the Secret Service to provide Trump’s detail with more resources.
“Upon learning of the increased threat, NSC directly contacted USSS at a senior level to be absolutely sure they continued to track the latest reporting,” the official told the Washington Examiner. “USSS shared this information with the detail lead, and the Trump campaign was made aware of an evolving threat. In response, Secret Service surged resources and assets for the protection of former President Trump.”
It’s unclear when the threat level increased as well as what additional resources were provided to Trump’s detail, but it did not stop a completely unrelated assassination attempt from taking place last weekend.
Thomas Matthew Crooks, a Pennsylvania native, scaled a building less than 200 yards from where Trump was speaking in Butler, Pennsylvania, and fired multiple shots at him. Crooks grazed the president’s ear, killed a spectator, and injured two others.
“At this time, law enforcement has reported that their investigation has not identified ties between the shooter and any accomplice or co-conspirator, foreign or domestic,” Watson added.
The shooting has raised significant skepticism about the Secret Service’s performance on Saturday — including why the building wasn’t secured by law enforcement, why law enforcement let him out of their sight, and why officers did not immediately get Trump off the stage when the shooter was uncovered — which are now highlighted given the National Security Council’s confirmation that the Secret Service had provided more resources to Trump’s detail before the assassination attempt was carried out.
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“I see these reports that they heightened security. This was not heightened security,” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on The Ingraham Angle Tuesday night. “We’ve known for a while. It’s been public. It’s been publicized that Iran wants to kill American officials, including the president and anyone they blame for the attack on Soleimani.”
There are several government entities now investigating the shooting, including the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General, the House Oversight Committee, the House Homeland Security Committee, the House Judiciary Committee, the Senate Homeland Security Committee, as well as the independent review as announced by President Joe Biden.