Donald Trump was given a briefing Tuesday by intelligence officials about “real and specific threats” from Iran to assassinate him, his campaign said.
In a statement, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said the Office of the Director of National Intelligence informed the former president about the Iranian plots, which aim to “destabilize and sow chaos in the United States.” The briefing comes after the FBI foiled an alleged Iran-linked plot to kill Trump earlier this year that authorities said was not believed to be related to the Butler, Pennsylvania, rally shooting, which wounded the Republican nominee in July.
Cheung said intelligence officials “have identified that these continued and coordinated attacks have heightened in the past few months.” It’s not clear if the briefing concerned threats already known to U.S. intelligence or if new plots from Iran have been detected.
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“Big threats on my life by Iran,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform after the campaign statement. “The entire U.S. Military is watching and waiting. Moves were already made by Iran that didn’t work out, but they will try again. Not a good situation for anyone.”
He added that he is “surrounded by more men, guns, and weapons than I have ever seen before,” and praised lawmakers for backing bipartisan legislation increasing Secret Service protection for presidential candidates in the days after the latest apparent attempt on his life at his West Palm Beach golf course.
“Nice to see Republicans and Democrats get together on something,” Trump wrote, adding: “An attack on a former President is a Death Wish for the attacker!”
The briefing came after Iranian hackers targeted the Trump campaign, sending unsolicited stolen secrets to reporters and President Joe Biden’s campaign team. Authorities said there’s no evidence that recipients responded to the hacked materials, however, and said the Biden-Harris campaign was also targeted by Iranian hacking efforts. A report Tuesday said Trump’s camp had been hacked again within the last 10 days, with sensitive campaign files again reportedly sent to journalists.
Despite both campaigns being targeted, Trump spokesman Cheung claimed without evidence that Tehran wants Kamala Harris to win the November election.
“Make no mistake, the terror regime in Iran loves the weakness of Kamala Harris, and is terrified of the strength and resolve of President Trump,” Cheung said. “He will let nothing stop him or get in his way to fight for the American people and to Make America Great Again.”
