Israel recently shared intelligence with the United States indicating that Iran has developed a new plan to assassinate former President Donald Trump, according to a Wall Street Journal report Thursday citing individuals familiar with the matter.
The reported intelligence signifies an escalation of existing threats against Trump, whom Iran has repeatedly vowed to retaliate against following the U.S. strike that killed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps General Qassem Soleimani in 2020.
When asked about the report, the White House referred Fox News Digital to remarks made by Trump on Wednesday. Trump stated, "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. And so far, I guess I’ve been a bit lucky, but maybe that doesn’t last very long. These are evil, sick people. And we have to root out that cancer. That cancer. You know what you do? You’ve got to cut out cancer early. And that’s the way I feel."
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The Wall Street Journal reported that the intelligence emerged as Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have recently diverged on approaches following recent conflict with Iran. Netanyahu has advocated for continued military pressure on Tehran, while Trump has sought to maintain a fragile ceasefire after U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
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Trump and Netanyahu spoke Thursday, and a statement from Netanyahu's office indicated they agreed to continue coordination between their countries. The statement also noted that Trump updated the Israeli leader on recent U.S. activities in the Gulf.
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According to The Journal, Iranian mourners at the funeral for Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei chanted for Trump's death and displayed a banner that read, "We Will Kill Trump."
Iran has publicly expressed intentions for years to retaliate against Trump for the U.S. operation that resulted in Soleimani's death in Baghdad in January 2020. Soleimani was the former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force.