Israel recently shared intelligence that it had gathered about an Iranian plot designed to kill President Trump. The plot was initially reported by the Wall Street Journal last week.  

The plan to assassinate Trump is not particularly surprising to those who have followed the Iranian regime in recent years. Iranian leaders have frequently threatened to kill the president as part of a revenge plot following the killing of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Gen. Qasem Soleimani by U.S. military forces in 2020. Trump was president of the U.S. during the time of the killing.

Trump recently acknowledged the assassination plot. When speaking to reporters at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, the president said, “They want to take out the US leader—me." He went on to say that “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.” The president continued by saying that the Iranians were "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.”

The report by the Journal did not reveal any specific details of the alleged plot to take out Trump. Several media outlets did confirm that the U.S. was informed about the assassination plot by the Israelis earlier in the week. The threat in question had not been identified by U.S. intelligence before Israel uncovered it. In addition, CNN is reporting that the threat has not been fully vetted.

President Trump traveled to Turkey for the summit on the new Air Force One. The repurposed plane was a gift from the Qataris and was only recently unveiled. However, Trump and his staff traveled back to the U.S. from Turkey aboard a different Air Force One. According to the White House, the decision to switch the aircraft was a strategic distraction designed to keep Trump safe.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was part of the American contingent that traveled to Turkey. While Hegseth was originally planning to travel to Israel after the summer, he was advised to return home instead of going to the Middle East. It is not clear if the assassination attempt also included Hegseth or other members of Trump's cabinet.

U.S. and Israel Relationship on Shaky Ground

The revelation of the plot comes at a time when relations between the U.S. and Israel are on shaky ground. The ongoing conflict in Iran has driven a wedge between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Specifically, Trump has not been happy that Netanyahu continues to instruct the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to lob attacks at Lebanon.

Most notably, Trump told Netanyahu that he was "f---ing crazy" for attacking Lebanon. The president is worried that Israel's attacks on Lebanon will add more fuel to the fire with Iran.

According to a report from The New York Post, a U.S. official summarized Trump's comments about his counterpart in Israel, saying that the president told Netanyahu that ”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."

Although those comments by Trump happened at the beginning of June, the two leaders have spoken at least twice since that time. According to Netanyahu's office, the pair have agreed to meet in the near future.

The news of the assassination plot is no surprise to anyone who was in Iran last week. The country gathered for a week-long funeral for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. U.S. forces killed the late supreme leader on the first day of the war at the end of February. Signs vowing revenge against Trump lined the processional routes throughout the week.

Dozens of Khamenei's supporters held placards that simply said "WE WILL KILL TRUMP" during Thursday's burial ceremony. There were also reports of crowds shouting that they were going to kill Trump, echoing the sentiments observed throughout the nation in recent weeks.

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