Iran on the hunt for Trump

A series of developments have been unfolding in recent months regarding Iran's alleged attempts to assassinate former President Donald Trump or at least damage his chances of a victory through a series of cyberattacks ahead of the November election, when he will compete for the U.S. presidency against Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.

While no link has been found between the recent assassassination attempt against Trump, perpetrated by Thomas Matthew Crooks in Butler, Pa., on July 13, a recent case caught the attention of authorities.

Arrest of a Pakistani suspect for allegedly plotting to assassinate Trump

The Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed in August that a Pakistani national with ties to Iran was arrested after attempting hire hitmen to possibly assassinate Trump.

The man in question is 46-year-old Asif Merchant, who came to the United States from Pakistan in April 2024 after spending time in Iran. He contacted a person he believed could help him with his assassination plans. However, that person alerted authorities and became a confidential source.

In early June, Merchant met in New York with the informant and detailed his plan, which included stealing documents and USB drives from a target's residence, organizing a protest to serve as a distraction during the assassination, and ultimately, killing a politician or official.

Although Merchant described the target as a person with "security all around" around him, without revealing his specific identity, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland confirmed that the plot was motivated by retaliation for the assassination of powerful Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force, part of the Islamic Republic's Revolutionary Guard Corps., who was eliminated by order of Trump in 2020.

Merchant paid $5,000 advances in mid-June to individuals he believed to be hitmen, though they were actually undercover FBI agents. He was arrested in July before he could leave the country.

Federal authorities believe Merchant may have had the former president in mind as one of the possible targets. In response to the plot, the Secret Service strengthened Trump's security.

US intelligence detected another Iranian plot to assassinate Trump

Earlier in July, U.S. authorities obtained critical information about a Iranian plot to assassinate Trump in the weeks leading up to the Butler attack, several sources told CNN. However, the same sources clarified that they do not believe the threat is related to the shooting that wounded Trump.

According to the report, a U.S. National Security Council official confirmed that the U.S. Secret Service was alerted to the increased threat, leading to an increase in resources devoted to protecting the former president. Despite this additional protection, a 20-year-old man managed to climb onto the roof of a nearby warehouse and shoot at Trump.

Other targets of Iranian threats

Iran vowed to avenge for the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, carried out by the U.S. military in January 2020. Since then, several former Trump administration officials have been the targets of threats, including Mike Pompeo, former secretary of state, and John R. Bolton, former national security advisor.

Iranian regime denies the allegations

The Iranian regime has denied allegations about its alleged plots to assassinate Republican candidate Donald Trump.

Naser Kanani, spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, said recently that his country "firmly rejects any involvement in the recent armed attack against Trump," AFP noted.

However, he stressed that Iran remains "determined to prosecute Trump for his direct role in the assassination of General Qasem Soleimani."

Alleged Iranian computer hack against Trump campaign

Recently, several U.S. federal intelligence agencies attributed responsibility to Iran for the cyberattack against Donald Trump's presidential campaign revealed on Aug. 10.

"We have observed increasingly aggressive Iranian activity during this election cycle," the FBI, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and the Cyber and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said in a statement.

This "includes the recently reported activities to compromise former President Trump’s campaign, which the [intelligence community] attributes to Iran," they added.

Trump campaign blamed 'foreign sources' for cyberattacks against him

Trump's campaign team claimed on Aug. 10 to have suffered a cyberattack and accused "foreign sources" of leaking internal communications and a dossier on J.D. Vance, the Republican mogul's running mate.

'Iran seeks to stoke discord'

U.S. intelligence further estimated that Tehran sought to contact "individuals with direct access to both parties' presidential campaigns."

"Iran seeks to stoke discord and undermine confidence in our democratic institutions," the FBI, ODNI and CISA said in a statement.

In addition, the State Department warned Tehran last month that interfering in the November U.S. presidential election would have consequences.