Iran, on Wednesday, vehemently denied accusations by US media implicating it in a plot to assassinate former US president Donald Trump. CNN reported on Tuesday that US authorities had received intelligence from a "human source" weeks ago about an alleged Iranian plot against Trump, prompting increased protection measures for the former president. Other US outlets also covered the alleged plot.
CNN clarified that the alleged plot was not related to Saturday's shooting at a Trump campaign rally in Pennsylvania, which resulted in the former president being wounded and a supporter killed. The US National Security Council acknowledged it had been "tracking Iranian threats against former Trump administration officials for years," following Tehran's vow of revenge for the 2020 killing of Revolutionary Guards commander Qasem Soleimani in a US drone strike in Iraq.
Iran's mission to the United Nations labeled the accusations as "baseless and hostile." Foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani firmly denied any Iranian involvement in the recent attack on Trump. Nevertheless, he reiterated Iran's commitment to seeking justice for Trump's direct involvement in the assassination of General Qasem Soleimani, who led the foreign operations arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, was responsible for overseeing Iranian military operations across the Middle East. Trump's order for Soleimani's killing took place via a drone strike near Baghdad airport.