Updated

US intelligence officials were sceptical of an alleged Iranian assassination threat against President Donald Trump that was passed to the CIA by the Israeli government, according to a Washington Post report relayed on 13 August 2026. Sources said CIA analysts assessed the intelligence with "low confidence", raising questions about the basis on which Washington escalated militarily against Iran. Reporting also described a Secret Service operation in which journalists flew from Ankara on Air Force One believing Trump was aboard while he was in fact travelling separately, part of protective measures taken amid the apparent security threat; Trump told reporters, "But if I go, you go. Right?" Iran has seized on the disclosures, accusing the United States of allowing faulty intelligence — supplied by Israel — to drive it into confrontation, and pointing to the episode as evidence of American intelligence failures. Coverage published on 13 August also reported strain on the US naval blockade of Iran, including a morale crisis aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. Israeli officials have not publicly detailed the intelligence they provided, and the CIA has not commented on the assessment. The growing scepticism over the alleged plot has fuelled debate in Washington over the justification for the current campaign against Iran.