Unlock the US Election Countdown newsletter for free
The stories that matter on money and politics in the race for the White House
US officials received information about an Iranian threat to former president Donald Trump, prompting the Secret Service to increase security around him ahead of last weekend’s failed assassination attempt, according to people familiar with the matter.
There are no indications that the attack on Trump by Thomas Crooks was connected to the Iranian plot, said US officials.
“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,” US National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a statement on Tuesday.
She added: “The investigation of Saturday’s attempted assassination of former President Trump is active and ongoing. 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.”
Former Trump administration officials — including Trump as well as former secretary of state Mike Pompeo and former national security adviser John Bolton — have faced increased threats from Iran since the killing of former Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ commander Qassem Soleimani in January 2020.
Soleimani was Iran’s most senior military commander and was responsible for the IRGC’s overseas operations, notably training militias in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Afghanistan. He was venerated as a national hero in the Islamic Republic following his killing by a US drone in the Iraqi capital, and regime officials have repeatedly vowed to avenge his assassination.
When US intelligence learned of the most recent threat to Trump from Tehran it informed senior Secret Service officials, who increased his security details — although this failed to prevent Saturday’s assassination attempt.
The US intelligence community’s most recent worldwide threat assessment, released in February 2024, said Iran was targeting current and former US officials in retaliation for Soleimani’s killing.
“Iran also will continue to directly threaten US persons in the Middle East and remains committed to its decade-long effort to develop surrogate networks inside the United States,” the report said.
The Secret Service, which is tasked with protecting current and former presidents, has come under increased scrutiny in the wake of the attack. Crooks was able to climb a roof close to where Trump was speaking in Butler, Pennsylvania and shoot at him.
While the former president survived the assassination attempt and suffered an injury to his ear, one person was killed and two others injured. Crooks was shot dead by a security agent.
Read the full article here
