Former President Donald J. Trump’s campaign said he was briefed by U.S. intelligence officials on Tuesday about “specific threats from Iran to assassinate him.”
U.S. intelligence agencies had been investigating possible Iranian assassination plots this summer, but officials stressed they were not considering any threats linked to the July shooting that injured Trump. Earlier this month, police arrested another man who was found hiding out with a gun near Trump’s golf course in Florida. Federal authorities plan to charge him with attempted assassination, but there is no evidence that the plot is linked to Iran.
Trump campaign spokesman Steven Thune said Iran’s threats were part of an “effort to sow destabilization and chaos” and that “intelligence officials have confirmed that these sustained and coordinated attacks have escalated over the past few months.”
A spokesman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence confirmed the briefing took place but did not answer questions or provide details. It was unclear whether intelligence officials provided new details about existing Iranian threats to Trump or whether the agencies had gathered information about new plots against Trump.
Iranian hackers seeking to influence the 2024 presidential election infiltrated the Trump campaign and then sent excerpts of documents stolen from the campaign to Biden’s reelection campaign this summer, but law enforcement officials say the recipients of the materials did not respond. Iranian hackers also tried to infiltrate the Biden-Harris campaign.
Iran has also engaged in an ambitious and bold effort to spread disinformation about the election that officials say appears aimed at undermining Trump’s campaign, but has also targeted Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, suggesting a broader goal of stoking discord and discrediting American democracy.
Russia and China have also waged disinformation campaigns aimed at influencing the U.S. election. U.S. intelligence agencies have assessed that Russia supports Trump and views him as skeptical of U.S. support for Ukraine, and U.S. officials this month announced a wide-ranging effort to thwart Russian influence campaigns.
Julian Barnes contributed reporting.
