WASHINGTON: Israel shared highly sensitive intelligence with the United States this week regarding a fresh and “specific” operational plan by Iran to assassinate President Donald Trump, US media outlets reported on Thursday.
The alarming reports come at a time when renewed, back-and-forth military strikes between US and Iranian forces have raised global fears of a return to an all-out regional war. The intelligence warning also coincides with Trump’s puzzling, last-minute decision to use an older presidential aircraft to depart Turkey following the high-stakes NATO summit.
Washington defense agencies have monitored “a steady drumbeat” of general intelligence over recent months regarding potential Iranian retaliatory plans against Trump. “But the warning received from Israel was brand new and concerned a highly specific plot,” CNN reported, citing unnamed intelligence sources familiar with the sensitive matter.
The Wall Street Journal, also citing unidentified intelligence officials, corroborated the report, stating that the newly intercepted information described a “fresh” and active assassination plot against the US President.
The government in Tehran has for years vowed to exact direct revenge on Trump for ordering the targeted drone strike that killed top Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in January 2020, during Trump’s first presidential term.
When international news agency AFP contacted the White House seeking official comments on the media reports, an unidentified administration official simply pointed to specific remarks made directly by Trump on Wednesday.
“They want to take out the US leader — me. I’m on whatever list. I saw this morning I’m on every single one of their lists,” Trump explicitly told reporters aboard Air Force One as he was flying back to Washington from the NATO summit.
Trump unexpectedly utilized his older Boeing VC-25A Air Force One aircraft to depart Ankara, Turkey, where the NATO summit took place. He sent his brand-new, Qatari-gifted Boeing 747-8 jet ahead to a military base in Britain, where he subsequently switched planes for the final trans-Atlantic leg of the journey to Washington.
The sudden replacement of the new multi-million dollar jet on its maiden international voyage sparked intense geopolitical speculation that the aircraft’s defensive hardware was lacking—particularly since the US military had just launched fresh strikes against targets inside Iran, which directly shares a geographical border with Turkey.
The New York Times reported late Wednesday that the tactical aircraft switch was executed at the direct request of the US Secret Service “as a strict security precaution” rather than a response to an active mid-air threat.
During a formal press conference, Trump sidestepped direct technical questions regarding his personal safety but openly alluded to previous alleged assassination attempts orchestrated by Tehran, reiterating that he remains a high-profile target.
(With inputs from TNIE)
ലഘു വിവരണം
അമേരിക്കൻ പ്രസിഡന്റ് ഡൊണാൾഡ് ട്രംപിനെ വധിക്കാൻ ഇറാൻ പുതിയ ഗൂഢാലോചന നടത്തുന്നതായി ഇസ്രായേൽ രഹസ്യാന്വേഷണ വിഭാഗം അമേരിക്കയ്ക്ക് മുന്നറിയിപ്പ് നൽകി. യുഎസും ഇറാനും തമ്മിൽ സൈനിക ഏറ്റുമുട്ടൽ കടുക്കുന്നതിനിടയിലാണ് ഈ വിവരം പുറത്തുവരുന്നത്. തുർക്കിയിലെ നാറ്റോ ഉച്ചകോടിക്ക് ശേഷം മടങ്ങുകയായിരുന്ന ട്രംപിന്റെ പുതിയ വിമാനത്തിന് സുരക്ഷാ കുറവുണ്ടെന്ന സീക്രട്ട് സർവീസിന്റെ വിലയിരുത്തലിനെത്തുടർന്ന് അദ്ദേഹം പഴയ എയർഫോഴ്സ് വൺ വിമാനത്തിലാണ് യാത്ര ചെയ്തത്. 2020-ൽ ഇറാൻ കമാൻഡർ ഖാസിം സുലൈമാനിയെ വധിച്ചതിന് പകരമായി തന്നെ ഇല്ലാതാക്കാൻ ഇറാൻ ശ്രമിക്കുന്നതായി ട്രംപും സ്ഥിരീകരിച്ചു.
(With inputs from TNIE)
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