Israel warned the United States over several alleged Iranian plots to assassinate President Donald Trump, including possible sniper, knife and shoulder-launched missile attacks, but US intelligence agencies could not independently verify the specific threats, according to Reuters report quoting current and former US officials .The warnings were passed to US intelligence agencies and, in some cases, directly to senior White House officials, with the most detailed alert coming ahead of Trump’s trip to Turkey for the Nato summit in July. Despite the lack of verification, the White House and Secret Service took precautionary measures, including moving Trump from Air Force One to another aircraft during the trip.The warnings began before the 12-day war in June 2025 and intensified ahead of the US decision to go to war with Iran in February, according to the sources.The most detailed warning came ahead of the Nato summit in Ankara in July, when Israeli officials told the White House that Iran could try to kill Trump while he travelled aboard Air Force One, potentially using a shoulder-launched missile, the US official and another person familiar with the matter said.Despite the lack of independent verification, the warnings prompted the White House and Secret Service to take additional precautions. During Trump’s Turkey trip, the Secret Service carried out an unusual deception operation by moving him from Air Force One to another aircraft for his flight out of the country, according to the sources.
CIA had low confidence in some Israeli intelligence
The US intelligence community has long assessed that Iran wants to retaliate against Trump over the 2020 US drone strike that killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani. However, the CIA has been unable to corroborate some of the specific threats against Trump’s life shared by Israeli intelligence since early last year, the officials said.In several instances during the two US military offensives against Iran, the CIA assessed that it had “low confidence” in Israeli intelligence concerning threats posed by Iran, including alleged plans to assassinate Trump, according to one former US official and another person familiar with the matter.It remained unclear how widely those assessments had circulated within the Trump administration.The warnings also exposed broader differences between US and Israeli intelligence assessments on Iran. Earlier this year, US intelligence agencies assessed that Iran was not actively building a nuclear weapon, while Israel maintained that Tehran posed an urgent threat.Trump nevertheless proceeded with strikes against Iran in February. Reuters had previously reported that intelligence shared by Israel about alleged Iranian attempts to assassinate Trump was among the information he considered before launching the military campaign.A spokesperson for the Israeli embassy rejected the suggestion that Israel was using intelligence to influence US policy towards Iran.“The same people who claim that Israel is trying to influence US 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 also declined to discuss specific intelligence matters, but said the agency remained focused on protecting Trump amid recent assassination attempts and increased threats against the president.“The U.S. Secret Service continuously analyzes a wide range of information to guide our protective operations in real time and across every location we secure,” he said.
Turkey found no evidence to corroborate warning
The alleged threat during Trump’s Turkey trip was not independently corroborated by Turkish intelligence, according to a Turkish official.The official said Turkey’s intelligence agencies had no evidence supporting the Israeli warning that Iran intended to target Trump and that the assessment was shared with US officials.The episode nevertheless demonstrated the extent to which Israeli intelligence was shaping security decisions around Trump at a time of heightened tensions with Tehran.The United States has long relied heavily on Israeli intelligence on Middle East issues, particularly concerning Iran. Israeli intelligence typically reaches the CIA or National Security Agency through formal channels before being assessed alongside other intelligence, according to two former US officials.US agencies often cannot independently verify Israeli intelligence but use other information to assess its authenticity and accuracy, the officials said.
Intelligence-sharing tensions inside US administration
The Israeli warnings also came amid changes in how intelligence assessments were being produced within the Trump administration.Two former US officials said senior Israeli officials and representatives had contacted the White House on several occasions over the past year, including through the Situation Room, to brief senior Trump officials directly about Iranian threats.Such direct engagement has occurred amid a broader breakdown in intelligence-sharing arrangements within the US administration.Last year, amid rising tensions with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the CIA stopped working on joint assessments with the National Intelligence Council, according to the former officials.The National Intelligence Council is the US intelligence community’s senior analytical body and is overseen by the ODNI. It produces assessments intended to reflect the broader intelligence community’s view, with the CIA serving as its largest contributor.Recent Iran assessments by the council have also declined partly because of layoffs at the ODNI, according to the officials and another person familiar with the matter. The NSA declined to comment.
