Bolton: Trump would take Iranian assassination plot 'personally'

Trump's former aide John Bolton told Iran International that a reported Iranian plot to assassinate the former president during the US election campaign would be surprising, as anyone in that situation would take it "personally."

The former US national security adviser and long-time proponent of regime change in Iran told the ‘Eye for Iran’ podcast that despite the reported plot, there’s no indication Tehran had any involvement with Trump’s assassination attempt in Pennsylvania on Saturday.

Iran has vowed revenge for the killing of Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), who was killed in a US air strike in January 2020 on orders from then-President Trump.

Many of the Trump administration officials, as well as the former US president himself, were threatened by high ranking Iranian officials, including the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in January 2021.

Threats continued to come as late as February 2023, when Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the IRGC Aerospace Commander, appeared on Iranian TV to say, “God willing, we will kill Trump, Pompeo, [Frank] McKenzie, and the military commanders who ordered [Soleimani’s assassination].”

Bolton himself was the target of an assassination plot by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, in a case detailed by the US Justice Department in Aug. 2022. As a result, Bolton, who also served as US ambassador to the United Nations, has Secret Service protection.

"We've known of the threat against President Trump... but this [plot] is surprising" Bolton told podcast host Negar Mojtahedi on Wednesday.

"This seems to be the first indication of the regime in Tehran actually taking some step toward going after Trump. And to do it in the middle of a presidential election campaign where Trump was at least competitive as they began planning a possible assassination, I do find surprising," Bolton added.

When asked about Iran's apparent silence to the news of Trump's attempted assassination, Bolton said it was "at least indirect confirmation" that Tehran was seeking to target the US president.

"Maybe the regime is trying to come up with creative new ways to go after its enemies... I think it's appropriate to take it seriously and it's potentially not simply a threat."