Iran denies plot against Trump, after U.S. reports unspecified threat

The aftermath of the assassination attempt on former President Donald J. Trump in Butler, Pa., on Saturday. The Secret Service increased security measures for the event based on intelligence about an Iranian threat.Credit...Doug Mills/The New York Times

Iran denies plot against Trump, after U.S. reports unspecified threat

Washington Post-July18th2024

By Niha Masih

Updated July 18, 2024 at 7:53 a.m. EDT|Published July 18, 2024 at 2:50 a.m. EDT

Iran on Wednesday denied any involvement in the recent assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally, while also rejecting allegations that it had any “intention for such an action.”

The Washington Post reported Tuesday that the Biden administration had informed the Secret Service of an unspecified threat to Trump from Iran before the July 13 campaign rally. U.S. officials said they believe the attack on the rally, where one attendee was killed and two were critically injured, and where Trump said he was shot in the ear, was unrelated to any Iranian effort.

In a statement, Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said Iran “strongly rejects any involvement in the recent armed attack on Trump or claims about Iran’s intention for such an action, considering such allegations to have malicious political motives and objectives.”

U.S. intelligence officials have warned that Iran may seek to avenge the death of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in 2020 in a U.S. drone strike authorized by Trump. The military action was intended to “stop a war,” Trump said after the strike. “We did not take action to start a war.” Earlier in 2018, Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal, imposing sanctions that debilitated the country’s economy.

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In a statement to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) on Wednesday, Iran’s U.N. mission described Trump as a “criminal” who deserved to be prosecuted for Soleimani’s killing. “Iran has chosen the legal path to bring him to justice,” the statement said. In January, the Tehran Times reported that Iran was planning to petition the International Court of Justice over Soleimani’s assassination.