The threat may be linked to a broader pattern of retaliation for the death of General Qassem Soleimani
Madrid, July 16. (Europa Press) –
Weeks before the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, US intelligence received information about an alleged plot by Iran aimed at killing the great leader, although the threat may not have been related to the 20-year-old man who opened fire during a rally in Pennsylvania.
Both the Secret Service and the Trump campaign were notified of the threat ahead of the rally on Saturday, which left the former president shot in the ear and one supporter dead and two others injured, CNN reported.
The Secret Service stepped up security at the tycoon’s event in Pennsylvania after receiving the intelligence tip, though that did not prevent Thomas Matthew Crooks from opening fire from the rooftop, where agents eventually shot him dead.
The alleged plot hatched by Iran would appear to be related to a broader pattern of threats against former Trump administration officials in retaliation for the killing of General Qassem Soleimani in a US bombing in Iraq in January 2020, as detailed by the Biden administration.
“We have been following Iranian threats against former Trump administration officials for years,” US National Security Council spokeswoman Adrianne Watson said in a statement, Bloomberg reported.