Iran Denies Involvement In Plot To Assassinate US Ex-President Trump

(RFE/RL) -- Iran has denied plotting to assassinate Donald Trump after reports emerged that U.S. authorities had obtained intelligence suggesting that Tehran was planning to kill the Republican presidential nominee.

News outlets CNN and Politico on July 16, citing unnamed sources, reported that U.S. authorities had been informed of an Iranian plot to kill Trump weeks ahead of a July 13 attempt on the former president's life.

They said, however, that the assassination attempt did not appear to be linked to the Iranian threat.

In a statement late on July 16, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kananiinsistedthat Tehran was not involved in the July 13 attempt and charged that claims that Iran was plotting to kill Trump were "politically motivated."

"The Islamic Republic of Iran is determined to prosecute Trump for his direct role in the crime of assassinating General Qasem Soleimani," Kanani said.

Soleimani, a former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps' (IRGC) elite Quds Force, was assassinated in January 2020 in an air strike by U.S. forces at Trump's command. Iran has repeatedly vowed revenge for the high-profile killing.

Prior to Kanani's statement, Iran's mission to the United Nationssaidthe claims against Tehran were "baseless and biased" and maintained that the Islamic republic "has chosen the legal route to hold Trump accountable."

Iranian authorities have long warned that senior U.S. figures they believe were involved in the killing of Soleimani will pay a price. Among those threatened are Trump's former national security adviser, John Bolton, and ex-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

In August 2022, the Justice Departmentchargedan Iranian operative it said was a member of the IRGC for allegedly plotting to kill Bolton.

Earlier this year, the U.S. governmentextendedprotection for Pompeo amid persistent threats from Iran.