The United States has carried out strikes against Iran that successfully hit dozens of targets at multiple locations, following a volatile week in which Israeli intelligence warned Washington of a new Iranian assassination plot against President Donald Trump and Trump himself publicly acknowledged the threat at a NATO summit.
Israeli intelligence shared the warning with American officials this week, as the 60-day ceasefire between Washington and Tehran collapsed into resumed hostilities. The revelation sent Trump’s administration scrambling to assess whether Iran was preparing to act on a longstanding vow of retaliation for the 2020 drone strike that killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani.
Trump issued a warning to Iran and revealed a next target following the American strikes, which had hit targets at multiple locations. The president has threatened to “decimate and destroy” Iran if Tehran acts on any plot against him, posting that “1000 Missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Trump Speaks Publicly About the Threat
Speaking to reporters Wednesday at the NATO summit in Turkey, Trump publicly alluded to the intelligence, saying “They want to take out the U.S. leader – me” and “I’m on every list.” He acknowledged the danger with grim candor, saying “they want to take me out” but insisted that his adversaries “want to make a deal badly.”
The White House, when asked for comment on the Israeli intelligence warning, directed reporters to Trump’s own words at the NATO summit in Turkey on Wednesday, a response that underscored how openly the administration has engaged with the threat narrative in public. His remarks came against a particularly charged backdrop, as hardline lawmakers in Tehran had openly called for missiles to be fired at his location during the summit, and at funeral proceedings for slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the outset of the conflict, crowds of mourners called for Trump’s death, with some placing a formal death bounty on the president.
Intelligence Under Scrutiny
Two sources said the U.S. had neither vetted the intelligence independently nor been tracking the threat before Israel’s warning arrived. Some American officials viewed the Israeli report with caution, suggesting it could represent part of a broader Israeli effort to shape Trump’s thinking as he weighs whether to intensify U.S. military action against Iran. U.S. officials characterized the intelligence not as an operational plot but as a “general discussion” among Iranian officials about the possibility of targeting Trump, representing a downgrade from the original claim.
Still, the warning was described as specific, distinct from the general threat environment that U.S. agencies had already been monitoring in recent weeks. Some within the intelligence community are routinely skeptical of Israeli reporting on Iranian threats, particularly as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been an outspoken critic of the ceasefire arrangement.
American intelligence agencies had already been picking up a steady drumbeat of signals in recent weeks about possible efforts to target Trump. The intelligence community has been tracking several actors who have discussed carrying out attacks but have not yet moved to action. Agencies have also expressed concern that Iran could target a range of current and former senior U.S. officials, not just Trump alone.
Years of Iranian Threats
The U.S. government has tracked Iranian threats against Trump for years, rooted in Tehran’s vow of retaliation for the 2020 drone strike he ordered that killed Soleimani. That long-running grievance has taken on new urgency as the two countries find themselves once again trading threats and strikes, with the ceasefire that had briefly halted hostilities now described by Trump as finished.
The new Revolutionary Guard commander is Ahmad Vahidi, whom the Trump administration views as one of the main obstacles to negotiations. The fragile truce, which had temporarily halted direct military confrontation, has given way to an environment that U.S. intelligence agencies describe as one of elevated and active concern.
Coordination With Netanyahu, Diplomatic Track Continues
Trump spoke with Netanyahu on Thursday, July 9, and the two leaders agreed to maintain close coordination between their governments. Thursday’s call appeared intended to reinforce the U.S.-Israel alliance at a moment when both governments face Iran from different but overlapping angles.
Trump held a press conference alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other senior cabinet officials earlier this week, during which he addressed what he called the “crazy” nature of his opponents and their designs against him. He framed the threat as serious but also as evidence that Iran ultimately wants to negotiate, a tension at the heart of his current Iran policy.
Even as Trump escalated his rhetoric sharply, he said on July 10 that Washington and Tehran had agreed to keep talking despite the collapsed ceasefire, with Qatar and Pakistan working as mediators and Iran’s foreign minister traveling to Oman. The Treasury Department imposed fresh sanctions on an alleged Iranian financier, leaving the conflict suspended between open threats of assassination and a still-flickering diplomatic track.
The assassination threat intelligence adds to an already combustible set of pressures bearing down on the White House as Trump navigates the wreckage of a ceasefire and decides what comes next with Iran.
