“I’ve been on their target list for quite a while,” Donald Trump told the New York Post on July 10, 2026. A day earlier, the Wall Street Journal had reported that Israel warned Washington of a fresh Iranian plan to kill him in Ankara, Turkey.
CNN, citing sources, reported that Israel passed the intelligence to the United States earlier that week. Details of the plan were not immediately clear. US officials said Washington had not vetted the information and had not been tracking the plot before Israel raised it. US intelligence had been collecting a steady flow of reports in recent weeks suggesting Iran wanted Trump dead, but the Israeli warning pointed to a specific plan.
Doubts about the timing
Some US officials suggested the Israeli report might be meant to sway Trump as he weighs whether to step up attacks on Iran. Fighting between the US and Iran had resumed days earlier, after reports that Tehran attacked commercial ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. One source told CNN that some in the US intelligence community stay cautious about Israeli assessments. A France 24 reporter asked why the claim became public when it did.
Earlier in June, the Washington Post reported that US intelligence agencies had warned the administration that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would act to undermine Trump’s push for a lasting peace deal with Tehran. Two sources told Mint that several actors were being tracked who had discussed attacks without acting, and that US agencies feared Iran might also target other current and former officials.
Trump’s response
Speaking to reporters in Ankara the day before the WSJ story ran, Trump said: “They want to take out the US leader, me.” He added that he was “on every single one of their lists” and had learned of a new list that ranked him as Iran’s top target. It was not clear whether he meant the Israeli warning.
On July 10 he said the US military was ready. According to The Hill, he claimed that “1,000 missiles are ready to be launched” at Iran, with thousands more to follow if the plan went ahead.
Iran has openly vowed revenge since a US drone strike killed Revolutionary Guard general Qasem Soleimani in 2020, near the end of Trump’s first term. In 2024, Manhattan prosecutors charged an Iranian operative, Farhad Shakeri, with murder-for-hire and providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization in a plot against Trump before that year’s election. Days before the WSJ report, mourners at Ali Khamenei’s funeral called for Trump’s death. Khamenei’s son Mojtaba later said in a televised message that avenging his father was “the demand of the nation.”
The plane swap
Trump left the NATO summit in Ankara on an unplanned route. The New York Times first reported he flew home on Air Force One rather than the Qatari jet he arrived in. In August, senior administration officials told reporters that this account was wrong. After boarding Air Force One, Trump was reportedly moved out in a catering container and taken to a military jet, which flew to the United Kingdom. Staff and journalists left on Air Force One were unaware and served as decoys. CBS News reported that US intelligence had identified an Iranian plan to hit the aircraft with a surface-to-air missile.
On August 12 Trump confirmed the switch, saying he followed Secret Service and military instructions. “Every major president faces many threats,” he said. “I’m not concerned about anything.”
Democrats criticised how the swap was handled. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said it was “unacceptable that Congress was kept in the dark.” Senator Chris Coons called the treatment of the press and Cabinet members “despicable.” Former CIA director John Brennan said the White House had an “ethical requirement” to tell the reporters aboard.
Sources
- 2026 alleged Iranian plot to assassinate Donald Trump – Wikipedia
- Israel's warning of Iran plotting to kill Trump an attempt at destabilising US-Iran peace deal? Here's what we know | Today News
Sources
- 2026 alleged Iranian plot to assassinate Donald Trump – Wikipedia
- Israel's warning of Iran plotting to kill Trump an attempt at…
