Iran was plotting to assassinate Trump, but had no link to last week's shooting: Report

The US Secret Service had intelligence of an Iranian plot to kill former US President Donald Trump, according to a report.

Even though the Secret Service had intelligence of an Iranian plot to kill Trump, the agency has concluded that it had nothing to do with the assassination attempt last week at the rally in Pennsylvania, according to CNN.

The Secret Service is the US agency that protects the presidents and former presidents.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which is investigating the shooting of Trump, is yet to share the motive behind the shooting.

The CNN cited sources to report that the alert of Iranian plot was received some weeks back and the authorities had accordingly beefed-up Trump’s security.

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Iran considers the United States as its principal foe along with Israel and calls it the Great Satan. Trump and other Republicans hawkish on Iran have long been in its crosshairs and multiple Iranian assassination plots have been uncovered. Previously, former National Security Advisor John Bolton and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had also been a target of an Iranian assassination plot. Robert O’Brien, another former NSA of Trump, also had threats to his life from Iran.

While Bolton still has a Secret Service security detail with him, the details of Pompeo and O’Brien were withdrawn last year.

Recent uptick in threats from Iran

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The intelligence was passed on to the Secret Service by the US National Security Council (NSC), according to CNN.

A US national security official told CNN, “NSC directly contacted USSS [US Secret Service] at a senior level to be absolutely sure they continued to track the latest reporting. USSS shared this information with the detail lead, and the Trump campaign was made aware of an evolving threat. In response to the increased threat, Secret Service surged resources and assets for the protection of former President Trump. All of this was in advance of Saturday.”

The report further said that Trump and officials from his term had been facing a “persistent threat” for months.

The recent intelligence suggested that such threats had a “significant uptick” in recent days, sources told CNN.

Trump took the United States out of the Iran Nuclear Deal that was intended to cap the Iranian nuclear programme in lieu of lifting of sanctions. The deal was signed under the previous President Barak Obama. Trump and the hawks on the right disagreed with the deal and Trump quit it in 2018. Then, Trump began what he called the ‘maximum pressure’ approach to Iran where sanctions were ramped up.

Trump and his top officials have been Iran hawks. As president, Trump authorised the killing of Qasem Soleimani, a top Iranian general who commanded the Quds Force, the foreign intelligence and covert operations wing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) of Iran. The IRGC is the hugely influential armed force in Iran that’s separate from the country’s regular military and reports directly to the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, and acts as his sword-arm. The Quds Force is hugely influential as it drives the conflicts in the Middle East and beyond as it runs the Iranian schemes through covert operations and backing of numerous armed groups that Iran sponsors in the region and beyond.