Israel has alerted the United States multiple times over the past year that Iran was allegedly exploring plans to assassinate President Donald Trump, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The warnings, shared with U.S. intelligence agencies and, in some instances, delivered by Israeli officials directly to senior White House figures, described possible scenarios that included a sniper attack on Trump or an effort to recruit someone to stab him during a large public gathering, the sources said.
Those alerts first surfaced in the run-up to the 12-day war in June 2025 and became more frequent ahead of Washington’s February decision to enter the conflict in Iran, the sources said.
The most specific warning was delivered before the NATO summit in Ankara in July, according to a U.S. official and another person briefed on the matter.
Israeli officials told the White House they had intelligence suggesting Iran could attempt to kill Trump while he was traveling aboard Air Force One to the summit, possibly using a shoulder-fired missile, the officials said.
U.S. intelligence agencies have long believed Iran is seeking revenge for Trump’s 2020 strike that killed top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani.
However, officials said the CIA has been unable to verify some of the more specific assassination threats against Trump that Israeli intelligence has provided since early last year.
Officials Acted Despite Lack of Verification
Regarding the NATO summit warning, a Turkish official said Turkey’s intelligence services also found no evidence supporting Israel’s claim of a threat to Trump’s life, a conclusion Ankara shared with U.S. counterparts.
Despite the lack of verification, White House officials and the Secret Service have taken steps to mitigate the threats out of an abundance of caution, including an extraordinary deception operation during the Turkey trip that involved moving Trump from Air Force One to a different aircraft for his flight out of the country.
That episode underscores how Israeli intelligence is influencing the Trump administration’s decision-making about Iran at a time of heightened tensions with Tehran – and broader disagreement between U.S. and Israeli intelligence assessments on Iran’s threat overall.
Earlier this year, American intelligence agencies assessed that Iran was not actively building a nuclear weapon, even as Israel argued Tehran posed an urgent threat.
Despite the reports from the U.S. intelligence community, Trump moved forward with strikes in Iran in February.
Trump also took into consideration intelligence shared by Israel that Tehran had tried to assassinate him before launching the military campaign, Reuters previously reported.
Israel Denies Using Intelligence to Influence Policy
A spokesperson for the Israeli embassy disputed that Israel was using its intelligence to influence U.S. policy on Iran.
‘The same people who claim that Israel is trying to influence U.S. policy through alleged intelligence sharing would just as soon accuse Israel of concealing critical information if it benefited their own agenda,’ the spokesperson said.
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi declined to discuss specific intelligence matters but said the agency remains focused on Trump’s security amid recent assassination attempts and an increase in threats against the president.
‘The U.S. Secret Service continuously analyses a wide range of information to guide our protective operations in real time and across every location we secure,’ he said.
The U.S. has long relied heavily on Israeli intelligence on Middle East matters, particularly as they relate to Iran.
The current and former officials said Israeli intelligence on Iran typically flows to the CIA or the National Security Agency through formal channels and is subsequently analysed, two former U.S. officials said.
The U.S. intelligence agencies often cannot verify Israeli intelligence but will use other forms of information to make judgment calls on its authenticity and accuracy, the officials said.
Reported Breakdown of US Intelligence Sharing
In several instances over the course of the two U.S. military offensives in Iran, the CIA assessed it had ‘low confidence’ in the Israeli intelligence about the threats posed by Iran, including any plans to assassinate Trump, according to one former official and another person familiar with the matter.
It is unclear how widely those assessments have been circulated inside the administration.
Two of the former U.S. officials described to Reuters several instances in which senior Israeli officials and representatives over the last year called the White House, including in the Situation Room, to brief senior Trump officials on Iranian threats directly.
The direct engagement comes amid a breakdown in U.S. intelligence sharing inside the Trump administration.
Last year, amid increased tension with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the CIA stopped working on joint assessments with the National Intelligence Council, the former officials said.
The council is the U.S. intelligence community’s elite analytical group overseen by ODNI to turn out reports reflecting the view of the broader intelligence community, with the CIA being the largest contributor to its assessments.
Fewer recent Iran assessments by the NIC have stemmed partly from recent layoffs at ODNI, the officials and another person familiar with the matter added.
@dailymail U.S. President Donald Trump has confirmed that he switched aircraft after secretly flying on a military plane from Turkey last month, amid concerns over a potential Iranian assassination threat. Trump said the aircraft he had been traveling on was considered to be at greater risk, prompting the switch. He was reportedly moved between aircraft in a catering truck as a security precaution. ’I think actually the plane that I flew on was at greater risk,’ Trump told reporters. ’I think it was at greater risk because that would be the plane I think that they would be more likely to go for.’ #trump #usa #iran ♬ original sound – Daily Mail
