Israel has shared intelligence with the United States regarding Iranian plans aimed at assassinating US President Donald Trump.
Sources familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal that Israeli intelligence had indicated a new plot was being prepared to assassinate the American president. The report did not make clear when the intelligence was passed on, or through which channel.
The WSJ notes that Iran has publicly vowed to assassinate Trump ever since the United States killed General Qassem Soleimani of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force in 2020, and that calls for the American president’s death feature prominently in the ongoing memorial ceremonies for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on the first day of the Iran war.
However, two US officials told Israel’s Channel 12 News that the information concerned a general discussion among Iranian officials about a potential assassination of the American president, rather than a concrete operational plan.
They claimed that Israel had provided the intelligence to the United States in order to strengthen ties between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump, and to influence Washington’s policy towards Iran.
The Israeli government stated today that it is prepared to resume its attacks on Iran, and that it is only awaiting approval from President Trump.
Trump has been the target of several assassination attempts, including this week. In that connection, Trump stated:
“I’m on every list. I saw this morning that I’m on every single one of their lists. So far I’ve probably been a little lucky, but that may not last much longer.”
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The White House indicated on Thursday that it still stands by the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Iran.
“The United States remains committed to finding a solution, and the technical discussions are continuing,” a senior US official said in a statement.
However, the spokesperson stressed that Iran’s aggressive behaviour has consequences.
“President Trump stated his position clearly and unequivocally yesterday. Iran’s attacks on these innocent vessels are acts of terrorism,” the senior US official said. “The MOU is results-based, and Iran’s actions constitute a breach of the agreement at an unacceptable level.”
Earlier this week, Trump declared that the framework agreement intended to end the war with Iran was “over” after the Islamic Republic carried out attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and against neighbouring Arab states.
Although the latest clashes have remained confined to the Gulf region and have not spread to Israel, Jerusalem is preparing for a number of different scenarios, Channel 12 reports.
Israel is not a party to the Memorandum of Understanding or to the negotiations between the United States and the Iranian regime, and Israeli authorities have criticised the MOU document for failing to secure any concrete concessions from Iran regarding the country’s nuclear programme.