WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — The White House is warning Iran any involvement in an attempt on former President Donald Trump’s life would be considered an act of war, a U.S. official tells NewsNation.
President Joe Biden — who has been regularly briefed on the threats to kill Trump — directed his team to send messages to the highest levels of the Iranian government signaling them to cease any and all plotting, the official added. This comes after what authorities say were two attempts, neither linked to Iran, against Trump.
Iran has vowed vengeance against Trump and officials from his administration for the killing of Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Trump said he ordered the Jan. 2020 drone strike on Soleimani after receiving intelligence he was planning “imminent and sinister attacks on American diplomats and military personnel.”
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Trump was briefed by U.S. intelligence officials last month about “specific threats from Iran to assassinate him,” according to his campaign. For his part, Trump alleged that Iran might have been involved in the recent attempted assassinations against him, though intelligence officials have not concluded that is true.
“As you know, there have been two assassination attempts on my life that we know of, and they may or may not involve — but possibly do — Iran,” Trump said during a speech in North Carolina on Sept. 25. “If I were the president, I would inform the threatening country, in this case Iran, that if you do anything to harm this person, we are going to blow your largest cities and the country itself to smithereens.”
The National Security Council said the White House has been “closely tracking Iranian threats against former President Trump and former Trump administration officials for years, dating back to the last administration.”
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“We consider this a national and homeland security matter of the highest priority, and we strongly condemn Iran for these brazen threats,” spokesman Sean Savett said in a statement to NewsNation. “Should Iran attack any of our citizens, including those who continue to serve the United States or those who formerly served, Iran will face severe consequences.”
Savett concluded: “We have ensured that appropriate agencies are continuously and promptly providing the former President’s security detail with evolving threat information. Additionally, President Biden has reiterated his directive that the United States Secret Service should receive every resource, capability, and protective measure required to address those evolving threats to the former President.”
Trump’s campaign has requested elevated security measures, including the use of military aircraft, in the final weeks of the presidential campaign.
“I’ve told the department to give him every single thing he needs,” Biden said Friday in response to Trump’s requests.
