Trump briefed on alleged assassination threats by Iran, his campaign says
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The campaign said that intelligence officials have identified that Iranian threats have "heightened in the past few months" and US government officials were working to protect Donald Trump and ensure the elections were not impacted.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON – Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was briefed on Sept 24 by US intelligence officials on alleged threats from Iran to assassinate him, Trump's campaign said.
"Trump was briefed earlier today by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) regarding real and specific threats from Iran to assassinate him in an effort to destabilise and sow chaos in the United States," the campaign said in a statement.
The campaign said that intelligence officials have identified that Iranian threats have "heightened in the past few months" and US government officials were working to protect Trump and ensure the elections were not impacted.
Trump said later on his Truth Social site there were “big threats” on his life by Iran, adding Iranian moves did not succeed “but they will try again”.
Iran has previously denied US claims of interfering in American affairs. Iran's permanent mission to the United Nations in New York did not respond to a request for comment late on Sept 24.
An ODNI spokesperson acknowledged the briefing on Sept 24 but declined to address any specifics.
Earlier in September, a Pakistani man with alleged ties to Iran pleaded not guilty
The defendant named Trump as a potential target but had not conceived the scheme as a plan to assassinate the former president, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Federal authorities are separately probing an apparent assassination attempt on Trump at his Florida golf course July 13 shooting
US government agencies said last week Iranian hackers sent e-mails containing stolen material from the Republican former president's campaign to people involved in Democratic President Joe Biden's then re-election campaign, part of an alleged broader effort by Tehran to influence the US election.
Mr Biden stepped aside as candidate in late July and was replaced by Democratic Vice-President Kamala Harris, who faces Trump in a tight race for the Nov 5 US elections.
In August, the United States accused Iran of launching cyber operations against the campaigns of both US presidential candidates. Iran denied the allegations.
Tehran says Washington has interfered in its affairs for decades, citing events ranging from a 1953 coup against a prime minister to the 2020 killing of its military commander in a US drone strike. REUTERS
