Trump briefed on "threats from Iran to assassinate him," his campaign says
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Republican presidential candidate former President Trump during a rally in Savannah, Georgia, on Tuesday. Photo: Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Former President Trump said early Wednesday after his campaign announced intelligence officials had briefed him on Iran's efforts to assassinate him that he believes Tehran "will try again."
The big picture: The 2024 election has seen a spike in political threats, with two assassination attempts on Trump, shots being fired into Vice President Harris' campaign office in Tempe, Arizona, and election officials targeted.
- U.S. officials see Iran as the biggest nation-state threat to November's elections. Last week, U.S. investigators said Iranian "malicious cyber actors" emailed associates of President Biden's re-election campaign with "non-public material" stolen from Trump's campaign over the summer.
Details: Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung said in a Tuesday evening statement that officials from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) had briefed the ex-president "regarding real and specific threats from Iran to assassinate him in an effort to destabilize and sow chaos" in the U.S.
- "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.
- An ODNI spokesperson in a Tuesday night email acknowledged the briefing, but declined to address any specifics.
What they're saying: "Big threats on my life by Iran," Trump said on X. "The entire U.S. Military is watching and waiting.
- "Moves were already made by Iran that didn't work out, but they will try again," he added.
- "Not a good situation for anyone. I am surrounded by more men, guns, and weapons than I have ever seen before."
- Trump thanked Congress for unanimously approving a bill to enhance U.S. Secret Service protections for major party presidential candidates.
- "Nice to see Republicans and Democrats get together on something," he wrote. "An attack on a former President is a Death Wish for the attacker!"
Zoom out: The FBI, CISA and the ODNI in a joint statement last week said that the summer cyberattack that occurred before Biden suspended his campaign was an "example of Iran's multipronged approach" to "stoke discord and undermine confidence" in the U.S. electoral process.
- A spokesperson for Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign said last week that the team had cooperated with authorities since being made aware "that individuals associated with the then-Biden campaign were among the intended victims of this foreign influence operation" after their personal emails were targeted.
For the record: Iranian officials have consistently denied interfering in U.S. elections. They did not immediately comment on the Trump campaign's announcement.
Go deeper... America's new election shields: panic buttons, bulletproof glass
Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.
