WASHINGTON: The United States has warned the Iranian government to stop all plotting against Republican Donald Trump and said that Washington would view any attempt on his life as an act of war, a US official said on Monday (Oct 14).
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said US President Joe Biden has been briefed regularly on the threats and directed his team to address Iranian plots against Americans.
At Biden’s direction, top US officials have sent messages to the highest levels of the Iranian government warning Tehran to cease all plotting against Trump and former US officials, the official said.
The Iranians have been told that Washington would view it as an act of war if any attempt was carried out against Trump’s life, the official said.
Iran has denied interfering in US affairs. Tehran, in turn, says Washington has interfered in its affairs for decades, citing events ranging from a 1953 coup against a prime minister to the 2020 killing of its military commander in a US drone strike.
In January 2020, Trump ordered a US air strike that killed Iran’s then-top military commander, Qassem Soleimani, after receiving intelligence that Soleimani was planning imminent attacks on US diplomats and armed forces in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East.
Trump, a Republican, is now seeking a return to the White House after losing the 2020 election to Biden. Trump is now in a battle against Vice President Kamala Harris in the race for the Nov 5 election.
