According to a report in The Wall Street Journal on July 9th, sources familiar with the matter said that Israel has shared new intelligence with the United States, indicating that there may be plans by Iran to assassinate U.S. President Trump. This discovery could further exacerbate tensions between the United States and Iran.
For many years, Iran has publicly vowed to retaliate against Trump, because Trump ordered the killing of Qasem Suleimani, a senior general of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard, during his first term in office.
The Israeli Embassy in Washington refused to comment. The Iranian delegation to the United Nations did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The White House requested The Wall Street Journal to review the comments made by Trump on the 8th.
On July 8th, Trump hinted that he was under life threat while addressing reporters in Ankara, Turkey.
They wanted to get rid of the American leader - which is me, he said. "I was on every list. I looked at them this morning and they had me on every single one. So far, I guess I'm a little lucky but it probably won't last long."
In recent weeks, relations between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu have deteriorated sharply due to differences in interests regarding whether to continue the US-Iran conflict.
Netanyahu advocates continuing attacks against Iran and achieving more military objectives. Trump, on the other hand, seeks a way out of the conflict, citing concerns that war could weaken the global economy. The United States reached a fragile cease-fire agreement with Iran last month.
However, the ceasefire only lasted for a few weeks, and the two countries have recently engaged in another major conflict.
US President Trump threatened on the 8th that if Iran continued to attack ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, American retaliation would be "more severe." Later in the evening, the US Central Command posted on social media that it had carried out another round of attacks against Iran, targeting approximately 90 Iranian military targets, including air defense systems, coastal surveillance facilities, missile and drone storage facilities, as well as military logistical infrastructure along Iran's coastal areas. Iran's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ebrahim Raisi, sent a letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the current chairperson of the Security Council, Zengen Ngué Mokongo, on August 8, using the "strongest language" to condemn the United States for its repeated aggressive actions and its continuous violations of the United Nations Charter and other international law norms.
According to the office of the Israeli Prime Minister, Trump and Netanyahu spoke on the 9th. Both parties agreed to continue 'coordination between the two countries'. The statement also said that Trump informed Netanyahu about recent U.S. actions in the Gulf region.
