US intelligence officials were unable to independently corroborate several warnings from Israeli intelligence over the past year regarding alleged Iranian plots to assassinate President Donald Trump, according to a Reuters report published on Thursday, August 13, 2026, citing current and former US officials. The warnings detailed various methods Iran allegedly explored to target President Trump, prompting the Secret Service and White House to implement extraordinary protective measures, particularly during overseas travel.
"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." — Anthony Guglielmi, Secret Service Spokesman
The alleged assassination scenarios reportedly included plans to recruit an attacker to stab President Trump during a public appearance, positioning a sniper to shoot him, and potentially targeting Air Force One with a shoulder-fired missile. These warnings reportedly began before a 12-day war in June 2025 and intensified ahead of US military strikes against Iran in February of the current year. The most dramatic warning reportedly emerged prior to President Trump's travel to Ankara, Turkey, for the NATO summit in July, suggesting a potential attempt to assassinate him while aboard Air Force One.
Despite the gravity of the intelligence, US officials were unable to independently verify some of the specific details provided by Israel. Turkish intelligence officials also reportedly found no evidence to confirm the alleged plot surrounding the NATO summit. This lack of independent corroboration led US intelligence agencies, including the CIA, to assign "low confidence" to some Israeli-derived intelligence concerning potential Iranian threats, including alleged plans targeting President Trump.
Nevertheless, the possibility of such plots was treated with extreme seriousness by presidential security officials. During President Trump's departure from Turkey, the Secret Service and White House reportedly executed an elaborate deception operation. This maneuver involved secretly transferring President Trump from Air Force One to a different aircraft, allowing the original plane to serve as a decoy while he departed on the alternate plane. Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi stated, "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," declining to publicly discuss specific intelligence.
The reported warnings emerged amid longstanding concerns that Iran could seek revenge against President Trump and other US officials for the January 2020 killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani. Soleimani, who commanded Iran’s elite Quds Force, was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad during President Trump’s first term. Threats surrounding President Trump reportedly became a significant consideration as he weighed military action against Tehran earlier this year.
Disagreements also surfaced between American and Israeli intelligence officials regarding both Iran’s capabilities and the credibility of some of the intelligence shared. Earlier this year, US intelligence agencies assessed that Iran was not actively constructing a nuclear weapon, while Israel maintained that Tehran represented a significantly more immediate threat. Senior Israeli officials reportedly bypassed traditional intelligence channels on several occasions to directly brief senior Trump administration officials, including those in the White House Situation Room, raising questions about whether these warnings were partly intended to influence Washington’s approach toward Tehran. A spokesperson for the Israeli Embassy rejected this suggestion, stating, "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 United States routinely receives intelligence from Israel concerning Iran and other security threats in the Middle East. This information typically passes through US intelligence agencies like the CIA and National Security Agency, where analysts attempt independent evaluation and corroboration. The latest revelations do not establish that each alleged assassination scenario represented an operational Iranian plot ready for execution, and US officials reportedly expressed skepticism about specific warnings. However, the serious nature of the intelligence necessitated extraordinary security measures, underscoring persistent concerns about President Trump’s security as US-Iran tensions remain high.
