U.S. authorities have received intelligence information from a source in recent weeks about a conspiracy orchestrated by Iran to attempt to assassinate Donald Trump, a development that has led the Secret Service to increase security around the former president in recent weeks, according to several sources familiar with the matter who spoke to CNN. Sources reported that there is no indication that Thomas Matthew Crooks, the potential assassin who attempted to kill the former president on Saturday, was linked to the conspiracy.
According to CNN, the existence of an intelligence threat from a hostile foreign intelligence agency—and the bolstering of security measures for Trump—raises new questions about security vulnerabilities at the gathering on Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania, and how a 20-year-old man managed to get close enough on the roof to fire shots that injured the former president. It is unclear whether details of the Iranian threat were shared with Trump's campaign, which stated: “We do not comment on the security details of President Trump. All questions should be directed to the United States Secret Service.”
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi stated on Sunday that the agency "recently added resources and preventive capabilities to the former president's security detail." People familiar with the matter indicated that Secret Service officials repeatedly warned Trump's campaign against organizing outdoor rallies, which pose greater risks than events that the agency can control more effectively. Sources noted that the warnings were of a more general nature.
At some point during this election cycle, the campaign ceased holding spontaneous informal events where guests were not screened by the Secret Service in advance due to security fears, according to a source familiar with the matter who spoke to CNN. The FBI, which is investigating Saturday's shooting incident, declined to comment. Iran has repeatedly vowed to take revenge for the U.S. military's killing of Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, in January 2020. Senior former officials in the Trump administration who worked in national security have been subject to heightened security measures since leaving the government.
In August 2022, the Justice Department announced criminal charges against a member of Iran's Revolutionary Guard for allegedly attempting to orchestrate the assassination of John Bolton, who served as Trump's National Security Advisor. U.S. prosecutors indicated that the plot against Bolton was “likely retaliation” for Soleimani's killing. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was also targeted in the Iranian assassination plot, according to a federal law enforcement source familiar with the investigation and a source close to Pompeo. For months, law enforcement officials have been concerned about the ongoing threat that Iran could attempt to assassinate former Trump officials and the former president himself, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. However, sources told CNN that recent intelligence indicates a significant rise in the threat.
One source informed the network that warnings about this operational planning coincided with a noticeable increase in online messages from Iranian accounts and state-sponsored media mentioning Trump, raising security concerns among U.S. officials.
**Iran: Malicious Allegations**
On Tuesday, Iran's mission to the United Nations denied allegations of a conspiracy orchestrated by Tehran to attempt to assassinate former President and Republican candidate Donald Trump. The Iranian mission deemed the accusation against Tehran as "baseless and malicious," claiming that "Trump is a criminal who should be prosecuted and punished for ordering the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani." The mission clarified that Iran has chosen the legal path to bring Trump to justice.