Sep 25, 2024 - Politics & Policy

U.S. tracking ongoing Iranian threats to government officials, Blinken says

April Rubin

Antony Blinken speaks at a microphone seated — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at a meeting of the UN Security Council at UN headquarters on Sept. 24 in New York City. Photo: Stephanie Keith/Getty Images

The U.S. is "intensely tracking" Iranian threats against current and former senior government officials, including former President Trump, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday.

Why it matters: Federal agencies have already said that Iran has worked to "undermine confidence" in U.S. elections, and violence has continuously manifested in the presidential campaigns.

"It's something we take very, very seriously," Blinken said on NBC's "Today." "We're looking at it very carefully."
Officials in the Biden administration have also been threatened, he said.

State of play: Trump said early Wednesday that he thought he'd be targeted by Iran again, after his campaign was briefed on an Iranian plot to assassinate him.

The GOP presidential nominee was targeted in two other assassination attempts in as many months.
"Not a good situation for anyone," Trump said on X. "I am surrounded by more men, guns, and weapons than I have ever seen before."

Zoom out: The Senate unanimously passed a House bill on Tuesday for equal U.S. Secret Service protection to presidents and major party presidential candidates.

Trump was already receiving the highest level of Secret Service protection, acting director Ronald Rowe said on Friday.

Go deeper: Secret Service staff face discipline for Trump assassination attempt failures

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U.S. tracking ongoing Iranian threats to government officials, Blinken says

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