Iran is plotting to assassinate President Donald Trump and other top former United States officials in revenge for the killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, a leaked U.S. intelligence report warns.
The intel report, which is marked “Not for Public Release” and “For Official Use Only,” is dated June 16, 2022, and was leaked to Yahoo News.
It also names former Secretary of State Michael Pompeo as an assassination target for the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The report says: “The Iranian regime is waging a multipronged campaign — including threats of lethal action, international legal maneuvering, and the issuance of Iranian arrest warrants and sanctions — against select US officials to avenge the death of IRGC-QF Commander Soleimani in January 2020, raising the threat at home and abroad for those Iran views as responsible for the killing.
“Since January 2021, Tehran has publicly expressed a willingness to conduct lethal operations inside the United States and has consistently identified former President Donald Trump, former Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, and former CENTCOM Commander General Kenneth McKenzie as among its priority targets for retribution.
“Iran would probably view the killing or prosecution of a US official it considers equivalent in rank and stature to Soleimani or responsible for his death as successful retaliatory actions.”
“Soleimani was the chief architect of Iran’s regional policy, and more importantly, the personal connective tissue between terrorists abroad and Tehran,” said Behnam Ben Taleblu, an expert on Iran and a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
“The U.S. blow against a figure like Soleimani remains an unhealed wound for the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism, with Tehran looking to wash blood away with blood,” he added.
“The fact that some U.S. officials need round-the-clock security due to the Islamic Republic’s threats and operations should be a wake-up call to those who only see Tehran as a potential proliferation problem or a distant threat in the Middle East.”
In its statement to Yahoo News, the NSC said the Biden administration and U.S. allies are “preparing equally for scenarios with and without a mutual return to full implementation of the Iran nuclear deal.
“The president will do what is in the best interests of U.S. national security.”
“This is a vital security interest to both Israel and the United States, and I would add for the rest of the world as well,” Biden said today in Jerusalem standing alongside Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid.
“I continue to believe that diplomacy is the best way to achieve this outcome,” the president continued.
“We will continue to work with Israel to counter other threats from Iran throughout the region, including support for terrorism and ballistic missile program that continues and the proliferation of weapons to terrorist and proxies like Hezbollah.
“With regard to Iran and convincing the Saudis and others that we mean what we say is — we mean what we say.”
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said:
“Words will not stop them, Mr. President. Diplomacy will not stop them.
“The only thing that will stop Iran is knowing that if they continue to develop their nuclear program, the free world will use force.
“The only way to stop them is to put a credible military threat on the table,” he said.
Iran may try to assassinate Trump https://t.co/JJl7WaCuXR
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) July 14, 2022
🔴 The Iranian regime ‘seeks to avenge’ the death of Qassim Soleimani who was killed in a 2020 drone strike ordered by the former US president https://t.co/VrZKET3GOu
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) July 14, 2022
