Israeli intelligence has shared with the United States a new Iranian plot to assassinate President Donald Trump, adding a volatile new dimension to an already deteriorating relationship between Washington and Tehran as a 60-day ceasefire falls apart. The warning reached American officials this week.
The specific details of the plot were not disclosed, and two sources said the US had neither vetted the intelligence independently nor been tracking the threat before Israel’s warning arrived. Still, the development landed amid a broader pattern: American intelligence agencies had already been picking up a steady drumbeat of signals in recent weeks about possible efforts to target Trump.
A Warning From Israel — and Skepticism Within
Some American officials viewed the Israeli report with caution, suggesting it could represent part of a broader Israeli effort to shape Trump’s thinking as he weighs whether to intensify US military action against Iran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been an outspoken critic of the ceasefire arrangement, and some within the intelligence community are routinely skeptical of Israeli reporting on Iranian threats.
Nevertheless, the warning was described as specific — distinct from the general threat environment that US agencies had already been monitoring in recent weeks. Trump himself spoke with Netanyahu on Thursday, and the two leaders agreed to maintain close coordination between their governments, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The US government has tracked Iranian threats against Trump for years, rooted in Tehran’s vow of retaliation for the 2020 drone strike he ordered that killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. That long-running grievance has taken on new urgency as the two countries find themselves once again trading threats and strikes, with the ceasefire that had briefly halted hostilities now described by Trump as finished.
Trump Speaks Out at NATO Summit
Speaking to reporters Wednesday at the NATO summit in Turkey, Trump said he had recently learned he was ranked as Iran’s top assassination target. He acknowledged the danger with grim candor, saying “they want to take me out” — but insisted in the same breath that his adversaries “want to make a deal badly.”
Trump made his comments against a particularly charged backdrop, as hardline lawmakers in Tehran had openly called for missiles to be fired at his location during the summit, and at funeral proceedings for slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — who was killed at the outset of the conflict — crowds of mourners called for Trump’s death, with some placing a formal death bounty on the president. The White House, when asked for comment on the Israeli intelligence warning, directed reporters to Trump’s own words at the NATO summit in Turkey on Wednesday — a response that underscored how openly the administration has engaged with the threat narrative in public.
Ceasefire in Tatters as Tensions Surge
The intelligence revelation comes as the 60-day ceasefire between the United States and Iran crumbles under the weight of mutual suspicion and resumed hostilities. Trump has flatly declared the agreement over, and both sides have resumed trading threats and strikes in recent days. The fragile truce, which had temporarily halted direct military confrontation, has given way to an environment that US intelligence agencies describe as one of elevated and active concern.
The intelligence community has been tracking several actors who have discussed carrying out attacks but have not yet moved to action. Agencies have also expressed concern that Iran could target a range of current and former senior US officials — not Trump alone. The president, however, has made clear he understands he occupies the top of whatever list Tehran keeps.
Trump Holds Firm, Promises Coordination With Netanyahu
Trump held a press conference alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other senior cabinet officials earlier this week, during which he addressed what he called the “crazy” nature of his opponents and their designs against him. He framed the threat as serious but also as evidence that Iran ultimately wants to negotiate — a tension at the heart of his current Iran policy.
Thursday’s call with Netanyahu appeared intended to reinforce the US-Israel alliance at a moment when both governments face Iran from different but overlapping angles. Netanyahu’s opposition to the ceasefire has been deep and consistent, and his government’s decision to share the assassination intelligence with Washington — whatever the ultimate intent behind that sharing — has now placed the threat squarely at the center of American foreign policy deliberations.
The assassination threat intelligence adds to an already combustible set of pressures bearing down on the White House as Trump navigates the wreckage of a ceasefire and decides what comes next with Iran.
