In the great geopolitical drama of our time, where missiles fly, spies disappear, and world leaders exchange threats like teenage diss tracks, Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu has added another scene to the script—this one featuring Donald Trump, Iran, and two alleged assassination attempts. The claim is explosive, the implications enormous, and, as always, the truth lies somewhere between a press release and a redacted CIA memo.So, what exactly is going on?
Scene One: Netanyahu Takes the Mic
President Donald Trump is surrounded by US Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa.
In a recent interview, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Iran had tried not once, but twice, to assassinate Donald Trump during the 2024 US presidential campaign. With the composure of a man who’s seen a few too many intelligence briefings, Netanyahu called Trump “enemy number one” for Tehran and said the Islamic Republic had used proxies and clandestine operatives to carry out the plots.According to Netanyahu, the first attempt came at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where a bullet reportedly missed Trump’s ear by inches. The shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was killed by Secret Service agents on the scene.The second incident involved an armed man, Ryan Routh, who was arrested at Trump’s golf club in West Palm Beach. No shots were fired, but the optics were alarming. Two close calls, two armed men, and now one bold accusation tying both incidents to Tehran.For now, US intelligence agencies remain publicly noncommittal. No formal confirmation, no attribution. Just silence—and silence, in geopolitics, is rarely meaningless.
Scene Two: The DOJ and the Man in Tehran
Unlike Netanyahu’s claims, the US Justice Department has receipts. In November 2024, federal prosecutors unsealed charges against one Farhad Shakeri, a Tehran-based operative allegedly working for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Shakeri had, according to the indictment, orchestrated a murder-for-hire scheme targeting none other than Donald Trump.The plot was brazen. Shakeri allegedly hired US-based intermediaries to surveil and eliminate him. Trump wasn’t the only name on the list—dissidents like Masih Alinejad were also targeted—but the instructions reportedly made clear: if there’s one target above all, it’s Trump.Shakeri remains in Iran. The IRGC, predictably, denies everything. But the charges are the closest thing to official confirmation that Tehran wasn’t just dreaming of revenge—it was budgeting for it.
Scene Three: A Pakistani Link and a Ghost Plot
Earlier in July 2024, US authorities intercepted another plot involving a Pakistani national named Asif Merchant. Though details remain murky, Merchant allegedly tried to recruit an undercover agent to carry out an attack on Trump. The motive? Retaliation for the 2020 strike on Qassem Soleimani, the Iranian general whose death remains a point of national obsession in Tehran.This plot never materialised—perhaps more of a concept pitch than a finished operation—but it was enough to raise red flags across US intelligence services. With two separate attempts in the same year, the question is no longer if Trump was a target, but how many times he’s been lucky.
Scene Four: The Ghost of Soleimani
Ever since January 2020, when an American drone turned Soleimani into a crater near Baghdad airport, Iran has been on a mission—not just to mourn, but to settle scores. Trump wasn’t just the US President who signed off on the hit; he became, in Tehran’s eyes, the architect of humiliation.In the years since, the IRGC has moved like a chess grandmaster with a grudge—methodically, strategically, and without forgetting a single name on its hit list. Multiple plots have emerged targeting not just Trump, but his lieutenants: Mike Pompeo, John Bolton, Brian Hook. Some schemes were thwarted. Others were frighteningly close to execution.Iran, of course, denies all such plots. But the denials ring as hollow as a nuclear facility in Natanz after a Mossad visit.
The Verdict (So Far)
Let’s separate the smoke from the gunpowder:
- Netanyahu’s claims: Politically useful, possibly true, but as of now, only partially confirmed.
- Shakeri’s plot: Legally documented. The most credible evidence yet that Iran tried to target Trump through direct means.
- Merchant’s ghost operation: Less defined, but consistent with a pattern of retaliation.
- The Soleimani effect: The throughline tying it all together—Tehran’s long memory, and its longer list of targets.
It’s worth noting that Netanyahu’s revelations come in the midst of Israel’s own ongoing campaign—Operation Rising Lion—against Iranian assets across the region. The subtext is obvious: Iran isn’t just a nuclear threat; it’s a state sponsor of global assassination plots, and Donald Trump is proof.
One Last Thing
Assassination plots aren’t new to the Middle East’s theatre of shadows. But rarely do they star a US president as the intended victim. That alone makes this saga extraordinary. Whether Netanyahu’s claims are corroborated or consigned to the dustbin of political theatre, one truth remains: Tehran never forgives. And Trump never forgets.
