US Authorities: Iran Allegedly Plotting Separate Threat to Trump

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Facts

• The US government, including the White House, has been on increased alert in recent weeks of an alleged Iranian threat against former Pres. Donald Trump, according to a national security official. The official says that the threat is unrelated to the July 13 assassination attempt.¹
• Iran denied the accusation, saying that it doesn't want Trump killed but rather "punished in a court of law for ordering the assassination of General [Qasem] Soleimani," who was killed by a US drone strike in January 2020.²
• Due to the previously known intelligence on the alleged threat, the US Secret Service enhanced security ahead of Trump's outdoor rally in Butler, Pa., where he was shot in the ear by 20-year-old gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks.³
• While physical threats from Iran are typically unusual, US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said on July 9 that "Iranian government actors have...take[n] advantage of ongoing protests regarding the war in Gaza" by supporting and funding them.⁴
• The intelligence sources further noted that the Trump campaign was advised to avoid outdoor events, but added that it was more of a general recommendation. The campaign earlier this year stopped holding spontaneous outdoor events in which attendees aren't screened.⁵
• Following the recent assassination attempt, additional Secret Service agents have been added to both Trump's and US Pres. Biden's security details. Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has since also been given Secret Service protection.⁵

Sources: ¹WSJ, ²CNN, ³The New York Times, ⁴POLITICO and ⁵New York Post.

Narratives

• Anti-Iran narrative, as provided by The Times of India. While Iran may not have been behind Saturday's assassination attempt, its dangerous regime should be on Washington's radar with respect to potential future plots. Not only was there credible intelligence on threats to Trump's life, but former Trump foreign policy advisors Mike Pompeo and John Bolton have been given 24/7 security due to threats from Tehran.
• Pro-Iran narrative, as provided by Al Jazeera. Even though Washington itself admits Iran wasn't behind the assassination attempt, the US government is still taking advantage of the event to try and smear Tehran. Despite the Iranian government having watched one of its generals be murdered by the US, it has merely called for legal punishment of American crimes, not assassinations.
• Cynical narrative, as provided by Revolver News. The recent assassination attempt was due solely to the Secret Service's abject failures on the ground. The questions that now need answering are why the agency didn't initially secure the rooftop from which the shots were fired, how an armed 20-year-old was able to sneak onto that roof, and why they didn't respond to reports of an armed man on the roof minutes before shots were fired. The US security apparatus would be better served by answering these questions rather than pointing to nebulous plots by foreign actors.

Predictions