Israel shares intelligence on new Iranian plot to assassinate Trump as president says he left instructions to ‘bomb them’

Israeli intelligence warning

Israeli intelligence services shared new information with the United States pointing to a fresh Iranian plot to assassinate President Donald Trump, the Wall Street Journal and CNN reported on 10 July 2026, citing anonymous sources. Details of the alleged plan were not made public. According to one CNN source, the warning reached US officials this week, while another source told the network the Israelis confirmed it was a new plan that US agencies had already partially detected.

Trump’s response and standing instructions

Speaking to the New York Post, Trump said he has long been on Iran’s target list and has left clear directives in case of his killing. “I’m their number one target,” he said, adding that his instructions would trigger a bombing “literally in a way and on a scale they have never seen before.” Asked about the Israeli intelligence report, Trump insisted there was no new threat, maintaining that Tehran has had him in its crosshairs for years. “Israel didn’t present anything new. I’ve been their number one target for a long time. That’s life,” he said.

If anything happens to me, bomb them literally in a way and on a scale they have never seen before.

The president had already told reporters on Wednesday at the NATO summit in Ankara that he was on every Iranian target list. “They want to eliminate the US leader, me. I saw this morning that I’m on every one of their lists. Up to now, I guess I’ve been somewhat lucky, but that might not last much longer.” He departed the summit on a different aircraft from the one he arrived in, a switch the New York Times linked to security concerns.

During his Truth Social post, Trump stated that the US had accepted Iran’s request to continue talks aimed at a final peace agreement, but also made it “absolutely clear” that the ceasefire was now over.

Revenge for Soleimani and the war backdrop

Tehran has repeatedly vowed to avenge the 2020 killing of Qasem Soleimani, the top commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who was killed in a US strike ordered by Trump during his first term. The Iranians publicly threatened retaliation against Trump personally. The US-Israeli military campaign has continued to target Iranian leaders throughout the war, most notably with the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s long-time supreme leader, in late February 2026.

Escalation in the Gulf

Tensions spiked in recent days after the US accused Iran of attacking three ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday and Tuesday. In response, the Trump administration cancelled the ceasefire and a memorandum of understanding that had been taking shape. The US also lifted the sanctions carve-out for Iranian oil exports. During Khamenei’s funeral procession in Mashhad, thousands of mourners gathered, some waving banners reading “Kill Trump” and chanting, “I swear on the blood of the Supreme Leader, Trump, we will kill you.”

Frayed US-Israel relations

The intelligence sharing comes at a moment of strain between the two close allies. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump held a phone call on Thursday (10 July), agreeing to maintain coordination on multiple fronts. Netanyahu stressed the need for “security zones” along Israel’s borders and raised hostile statements by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with Trump. Yet US officials quoted by CNN suggested the Israeli warning could be viewed partly as an effort by Netanyahu’s government to persuade Trump to continue the bombing campaign against Iran that resumed this week. Israeli leaders were reportedly surprised and angered by the administration’s peace deal with Tehran, and the White House has openly criticised Israeli tactics in recent weeks.

Netanyahu’s office said Trump briefed the prime minister on US military moves in the Gulf region. The Israeli embassy in Washington declined to comment on the Journal’s report, and Iran’s mission to the UN did not immediately respond to a request for comment.