Israel warned US of alleged Iranian plots to assassinate Trump, officials say

Ankara, Turkey. Israel issued several warnings to the United States over the past year that Iran intended to assassinate President Donald Trump, including ahead of a security operation during a trip to Turkey, according to one current and two former US officials.

Warnings and alleged plots

The warnings were provided to US intelligence agencies and, in some cases, directly to senior White House officials by Israeli officials, the sources said.

They included possible plots to shoot Trump with a sniper or recruit someone to attack him with a knife at a large public event. The sources said the warnings began before the 12-day war in June 2025 and intensified before the US decision to go to war in Iran in February.

NATO summit warning

The most detailed warning was received before the NATO summit in Ankara in July, the current US official and another person familiar with the matter said.

Israeli officials briefed the White House on intelligence indicating that Iran could attempt to kill Trump with a shoulder-launched missile while he travelled on Air Force One to the summit, they said.

A Turkish official said the country’s intelligence agencies had no evidence corroborating the Israeli claim, an assessment Turkey shared with US officials.

US intelligence assessment

US intelligence agencies have long assessed that Iran seeks retaliation for Trump’s 2020 killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani.

However, the Central Intelligence Agency was unable to corroborate some specific threats against Trump’s life reported by Israeli intelligence since early last year, according to the officials.

Despite the lack of verification, White House officials and the Secret Service took precautionary measures, including moving Trump from Air Force One to another aircraft for his flight out of Turkey.

Iran policy differences

The episode highlighted Israeli intelligence’s role in Trump administration decisions concerning Iran amid heightened tensions with Tehran and differences between US and Israeli assessments of Iran’s overall threat.

Earlier this year, US intelligence agencies assessed that Iran was not actively building a nuclear weapon, while Israel argued that Tehran posed an urgent threat. Trump proceeded with strikes in Iran in February despite US intelligence reports and also considered Israeli intelligence alleging that Tehran had previously attempted to assassinate him, Reuters previously reported.

An Israeli embassy spokesperson rejected claims that Israel was using intelligence sharing to influence US 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.