Book reveals new aspects of Iran’s plan to assassinate Trump - Axios

Iran's threat to assassinate US President Donald Trump during the 2024 election campaign was more severe than publicly known, according to a new book.

Extraordinary precautions, including the use of a decoy plane, were implemented by Trump’s team to counter the threat, according to a forthcoming book, Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump’s Return to Power written by Alex Isenstadt.

“Law enforcement officials warned Trump last year that Tehran had placed operatives in the US with access to surface-to-air missiles,” the author said in an interview with Axios.

“The concern intensified after a foiled assassination attempt of Trump at his golf course in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Sept. 15.”

Isenstadt said he was given extensive access to Trump's inner circle during his campaign.

Though Iran was not conclusively linked to the events, they heightened fears of an attack on Trump Force One, his personal jet, according to the book.

On one occasion, Trump traveled aboard a plane owned by real estate executive Steve Witkoff while his staff flew on Trump Force One. Many aides only learned of the switch just before takeoff, leading to what campaign insiders dubbed the Ghost Flight.

According to the book, set for release on March 18, the Secret Service also organized decoy motorcades and took steps like disabling a drone suspected of following Trump’s motorcade in Pennsylvania.

Campaign insiders noted that Trump grew more cautious about public events and spoke less frequently about ordering the 2020 airstrike that killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in Iraq.

Soleimani led the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force and Iran's influence and military allies in the Middle East.

Since then, US authorities have tracked several threats against Trump and former officials linked to Soleimani's assassination.

"If they did that, they would be obliterated," Trump said recently. "That would be the end. I've left instructions - if they do it, they get obliterated. There won't be anything left."

Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei reacted to Trump's remarks saying, “Tehran reserves its right to pursue a legal process for achieving justice regarding the killing of national champions and senior officials to achieve results in domestic and international courts.”