According to his campaign, intelligence officials warned the Republican presidential candidate of a “real and specific threat from Iran.”
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has claimed he has received a “serious threat” to his life after a U.S. intelligence briefing said Iran had threatened to assassinate him.
“The entire American military is watching and waiting,” the former US president said on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday.
“Iran has already tried a move that has not worked, but they will try again… I am surrounded by more people, guns and weapons than I have ever seen before,” he said.
His campaign spokesman, Stephen Chung, said in a statement Tuesday that Trump had been warned by the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) “of a real and specific threat from Iran to assassinate him in order to destabilize the United States and create chaos.”
“Intelligence authorities have confirmed that these sustained and coordinated attacks have intensified over the past several months,” Cheung said.
He added that law enforcement is working to ensure that Trump is protected and that the November 5 election is not interfered with.
Iran has previously denied claims that Washington interferes in U.S. affairs. Iran’s permanent mission to the United Nations in New York did not respond to a Reuters request for comment late on Tuesday.
An ODNI spokesperson confirmed they had been briefed on Tuesday, but would not provide specifics, according to Reuters.
It is not yet known whether the threats mentioned by the campaign and President Trump are new or have already been reported.
Trump last month accused Iran of hacking his campaign, and his team claimed the Iranian government was stealing and distributing sensitive internal documents without providing evidence. The claims came after Microsoft released a report detailing foreign attempts to interfere in this year’s U.S. election campaign.
Filmed in July
Iran has denied accusations that it planned to kill Trump, shortly after a gunman opened fire at a rally in Pennsylvania two months ago, killing one person and wounding the presidential candidate.
Days after the July 13 assassination attempt, U.S. media reported that authorities had received intelligence about an Iranian plot against the Republican Party, which led to increased protection for him. Iran denied the “malicious” accusations.
Separately, earlier this month, a Pakistani national with alleged ties to Iran pleaded not guilty to a charge of plotting to assassinate Trump in retaliation for the U.S. killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in 2020. Trump was president at the time and ordered the attack.
The defendant identified Trump as a potential target but did not plan to assassinate the former president, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the case.
Federal authorities are separately investigating an alleged assassination attempt on Trump at a Florida golf course in mid-September. There was no indication Iran was involved.
