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Intel and a plane switch
Israel shared intelligence with the Trump administration about Iranian hardliners’ desire to target President Donald Trump, with CNN citing an Israeli source and a US official who said it reflected a desire among elements of Tehran’s hardline leadership rather than a specific, detailed plan.
“The Israeli intelligence shared with the Trump administration of Iranian threats to assassinate President Donald Trump”
CNN reported that the new commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Ahmad Vahidi, was part of the group advocating for such a plan, and that Vahidi has been included in lists of “obstructionists” viewed by the Trump administration as actively undermining negotiations.
The reports also tied the intelligence to Trump’s decision to switch aircraft on his way back from a NATO summit, with CNN saying Trump used an older aircraft rather than the new airplane retrofitted after it was donated by Qatar and only began service this month.
France 24, citing AFP, reported that the intelligence was “specific” and may explain why Trump chose to switch planes when leaving the NATO summit in Turkey earlier this week, and that Washington had monitored “a steady drumbeat” of intelligence about possible plans to assassinate Trump but that the warning from Israel was new and concerned a specific plot.
Competing claims and quotes
Trump downplayed the significance of the Israeli intelligence in a Friday interview with the New York Post, saying, “Israel came up with nothing,” and describing himself as Iran’s “number one” target “for a long time.”
CNN quoted a US official responding to questions about Israeli officials’ interpretation of Trump’s view, saying, “This is fake news,” and adding, “The United States has a strong relationship with Israel.”
France 24 reported that an unidentified official pointed to Trump’s remarks aboard Air Force One, where Trump said, “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.”
Ynetnews reported that U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee explicitly confirmed in an interview with Fox News that Israel had passed on intelligence about a specific threat to Trump, saying Israel had provided Trump and his administration with intelligence on what he described as a highly specific Iranian plot to assassinate the president.
What it means for the conflict
CNN said the intelligence sharing came as Israel has been increasingly sidelined as the Trump administration grapples with how to end its war with Iran, and it reported that two Israeli sources said the Trump administration doesn’t want Israel involved in the fighting over concerns of losing control of the conflict.
“Two Israeli sources say the Trump administration doesn’t want Israel involved in the fighting”
CNN also reported that US intelligence officials are broadly aware that Israel feels cut out of the decision-making process and is ramping up efforts to influence the Trump administration’s thinking on Iran, with a measure of skepticism within the US intelligence community about information provided by Israel.
The Times of India, citing CNN, reported that some US officials believe the intelligence formed part of a broader Israeli effort to persuade Trump to escalate military action against Tehran, while also stating that both a US official and an Israeli source told CNN the intelligence reflected the intentions of hardliners within Iran’s leadership rather than evidence of a detailed, operational assassination plan.
France 24 reported that Tehran has for years vowed to hit back at Trump for ordering the assassination of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in January 2020, and it framed the new reports as arriving after renewed US and Iranian attacks raised fears of a return to all-out war.
