US tightens Trump security after Israeli warnings of Iranian threats

The United States received several warnings from Israel this year regarding alleged Iranian plans to assassinate President Donald Trump, including alerts that preceded a covert decoy operation involving Air Force One during Trump’s visit to Turkey. According to a current US official and two former officials, American intelligence agencies were unable to independently verify these warnings.

The sources said Israeli officials delivered the warnings directly to senior White House officials, outlining possible scenarios such as an assassination attempt by sniper fire or a knife attack during a public event. The alerts began before the 12-day war in June 2025 and intensified as the US moved closer to entering conflict with Iran in February.

The US official and a person familiar with the matter said the most detailed warning came ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara in July, when Israeli officials informed the White House of intelligence suggesting Trump could be targeted by a shoulder-fired missile after arriving on Air Force One. US intelligence assessments concluded Iran sought revenge for the 2020 killing of Qassem Soleimani, ordered by Trump, but the CIA was unable to verify some of the specific threats.

Regarding the NATO summit, a Turkish official said his country’s intelligence agencies found no evidence to support Israel’s claims of a threat against Trump and relayed this to the US side. Despite the lack of verification, the White House and Secret Service implemented precautionary measures, including an unusual decoy operation during the Turkey trip that saw Trump transferred from Air Force One to another aircraft upon departure.

Israeli intelligence shapes US decision-making

This episode highlights the influence of Israeli intelligence on Trump administration decisions regarding Iran, amid differing assessments between US and Israeli agencies about the Iranian threat. Earlier in the year, US intelligence agencies assessed that Iran was not actively pursuing a nuclear weapon, while Israel considered Tehran an imminent danger.

Despite US intelligence reports, Trump proceeded with airstrikes against Iran in February, factoring in Israeli information about an alleged assassination attempt before the military campaign. An Israeli embassy spokesperson denied that intelligence was used to sway Washington’s policy toward Tehran, while the White House and CIA declined to comment.

Information sharing and credibility assessments

The US has long relied on Israeli intelligence in Middle East matters, especially concerning Iran. Two former US officials explained that such information typically reaches the CIA or National Security Agency through official channels for later analysis, and US agencies often cannot fully verify its accuracy, instead using other sources to assess credibility.

A former official and a knowledgeable source said the CIA assessed its confidence in Israeli intelligence on Iranian threats, including plots against Trump, as "low" in several instances during US strikes on Iran. It is unclear how widely these assessments were shared within the administration, and the NSA declined to comment.

Two former US officials described several occasions last year when Israeli officials contacted the White House directly to brief senior Trump administration officials on Iranian threats, amid a breakdown in information sharing within the administration. They noted that the CIA last year halted coordination and information exchange with the National Intelligence Council due to rising tensions with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

The National Intelligence Council is the elite analytical body for US agencies, overseen by the Director of National Intelligence, and produces reports reflecting the broader intelligence community’s views. The CIA was previously the council’s largest contributor, but officials attributed the recent decline in council assessments on Iran partly to layoffs at the Director’s office.