Trump informed of threats from Iran to assassinate him
US presidential candidate Donald Trump (Getty Images)
US intelligence officials have informed presidential candidate Donald Trump about credible threats to assassinate him, originating from Iran, according to Axios.
On Tuesday, September 24, Trump's campaign representatives disclosed this information. Steven Cheung, the communications director for the Republican's campaign, said that officials from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) briefed the former president "regarding real and specific threats from Iran to assassinate him in an effort to destabilize and sow chaos" in the United States.
"Intelligence officials have identified that these continued and coordinated attacks have heightened in the past few months, and law enforcement officials across all agencies are working to ensure President Trump is protected and the election is free from interference," Cheung said.
In response, an ODNI representative confirmed in an email on Tuesday evening that a briefing had taken place, but declined to provide further details.
Backstory
A surge in political threats has marked the 2024 US presidential election. Notably, two assassination attempts have been made on Trump. Additionally, gunshots were fired at Vice President Kamala Harris's campaign office in Tempe, Arizona, and election commission staff have faced attacks.
Axios reports that US officials consider Iran the greatest threat to the upcoming November elections. Last week, US investigators said that Iranian malicious cyber actors sent emails to associates of President Joe Biden's campaign containing non-public materials stolen from Trump’s campaign over the summer.
Last week, the FBI, CISA, and ODNI released a joint statement noting that a cyberattack earlier this summer, which occurred before Biden paused his campaign, exemplified Iran’s "multifaceted approach" to "fomenting discord and undermining trust" in the US electoral process.
Furthermore, last week, a representative from Vice President Kamala Harris's campaign stated that the team had been working with authorities since learning that individuals connected to then-Biden’s campaign were among the alleged victims of this foreign influence operation after their personal emails were hacked.
It is worth noting that on Tuesday, Ryan Root was charged with attempting to assassinate Donald Trump, facing a life sentence.
