Donald Trump claims Iran has made “real and specific threats” to kill him.
The Republican presidential candidate’s campaign made the claim in a statement Tuesday night, portraying the plans as “an attempt to destabilize the United States and sow chaos.”
The bulletin was sent by Steven Cheung, Trump campaign communications director, and claimed the former commander in chief had already been alerted to the alleged plot.
This comes days after investigators discovered that Iranian “malicious cyber actors” sent emails to President Biden campaign staff last summer containing information “derived from stolen, non-public Trump campaign materials.”
It also details two failed assassination attempts on the two-term presidential hopeful, the most recent of which took place just this month.
Donald Trump’s campaign said Iran made “real and specific threats” to kill him on Tuesday night.
“President Trump was briefed earlier today by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence about real and specific threats from Iran to assassinate him in an effort to destabilize the United States and sow chaos,” Cheung’s bulletin began.
‘Intelligence agencies have determined that these sustained and coordinated attacks have increased in recent months, and law enforcement officials from all agencies are working to ensure [he] is protected and the elections are free from interference.
“Make no mistake, the terrorist regime in Iran loves Kamala Harris’ weakness and is terrified of President Trump’s strength and resolve,” the top Trump aide continued.
“He will let nothing stop him or get in his way from fighting for the American people and making America great again.”
The statement did not provide details about the assassination plot and has not yet been substantiated by the government.
Iran, home to the anti-Israel group Hezbollah, has previously denied allegations of meddling in US affairs.
But last week, multiple federal agencies discovered that hackers from the country had sent emails containing stolen Trump campaign material to people involved in Biden’s then-reelection campaign.
The Trump campaign’s claims come days after federal authorities discovered that Iranian “malicious cyber actors” had sent emails to President Biden’s campaign staff last summer containing information “derived from stolen, non-public Trump campaign materials.”
Officials saw the breach as part of a broader effort by Tehran to influence the upcoming election, prompting Trump’s campaign to say Tuesday that Iran was “terrified” by the prospect of the former president remaining in power for another four years.
“Iranian malicious cyber actors have continued their efforts to send stolen, non-public materials related to former President Trump’s campaign to U.S. media organizations since June,” the FBI, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said in a statement Wednesday.
“This malicious cyber activity is the latest example of Iran’s multi-pronged approach to sow division and undermine confidence in our electoral process,” the agencies added.
The joint statement acknowledged that there was no information indicating that the recipients had responded.
Officials also decided not to provide further details about the nature of the stolen material, as President Biden did.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.