Israel has shared intelligence with the United States that Iran has developed a new plan to assassinate President Donald Trump, CNN reported, citing its own sources.
The ceasefire agreement between the parties to the conflict is in question, adding to the tension.
One of the sources said the warning came this week. Another source said the US has received a steady stream of intelligence in recent weeks about possible plans to assassinate Trump. The warning from Israel is new and concerns a specific plot.
The Israeli report may be an attempt to influence Trump’s decision-making as he considers whether to escalate U.S. military action against Iran.
The details of the plot that Israel warned about have not been independently verified by the United States. The U.S. government has long warned that Iran could try to assassinate Trump in retaliation for the 2020 drone strike he ordered that killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani.
When asked for comment on the Israeli warning, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, the White House pointed to Trump’s recent comments about Iran’s desire to kill him.
“They want to take out the American leader — me,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday. “I’m on whatever list.” I saw this morning that I'm on every single one of their lists. And so far, I guess, I've had a little bit of luck, but maybe that doesn't last very long. These are evil, sick people. And we have to root out this cancer. This cancer. You know what you're doing? You have to remove the cancer early. And that's how I feel." Trump later said he had recently learned of a new list that ranked him as Iran's top assassination target. It is unclear whether he was referring to the new Israeli intelligence information.
Over the weekend, crowds of Iranians called for Trump's death at the funeral for the slain supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed early in the war.
Tensions between the United States and Iran have escalated in recent days, with the two sides trading threats and blows as a 60-day ceasefire ending hostilities falls apart.
Two sources familiar with the latest U.S. intelligence reports said the intelligence community was monitoring several actors who had discussed attacks but had not taken action, and one of them said U.S. intelligence agencies were concerned that Iran would target a number of current and former senior officials.
But the Israeli report is being seen - in part - as part of a broader Israeli attempt to influence Trump on Iran. Some in the intelligence community are always skeptical of Israeli reports, the source said.