Treasury Secretary
is the latest U.S. official to be threatened or targeted by Iran, but he is far from the first.
asserted
he → threaten → first
The Iranian regime has been implicated in various plots to target top U.S. officials since 2020, when President Trump ordered the killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani.
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Trump → implicate → Soleimani
Threats against Americans have ramped up since the start of the ongoing war with Iran.
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Threats → ramp → Iran
Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton
in October that Iran has "substantially increased efforts to target U.S. personnel" abroad, with plots to kill Americans reaching "advanced stages" in the Middle East and other countries.
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plots → increase → East
Bessent relocated from his home in the Washington, D.C., area to a military base following a series of Iranian threats against his life, CBS News confirmed Wednesday.
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News → relocate → life
The threats against other officials have been detailed in court records and news reports.
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threats → detail → records
Here are other U.S. officials Iran has targeted or threatened in recent years:
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Iran → target → years
The U.S. charged Pakistani national Asif Merchant with plotting a murder-for-hire scheme targeting U.S. officials in documents unsealed in August 2024.
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U.S. → charge → August
Court documents didn't name his targets, but convicted of terrorism and murder for hire in March of this year.
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documents → name → year
Merchant wasThe Justice Department said Merchant was a trained operative of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and that he admitted the IRGC sent him to the U.S. to arrange for political assassinations and to steal documents.
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IRGC → wasThe → documents
Prosecutors said law enforcement thwarted his efforts and he was arrested.
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he → say → efforts
At the time, then-Attorney General Pam Bondi said Merchant "landed on American soil hoping to kill President Trump — instead, he was met with the might of American law enforcement."
uncertain
he → say → enforcement
The Justice Department separately said Shakeri told FBI agents that an IRGC official had directed him the month before to come up with a plan to kill Mr. Trump.
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official → say → Trump
If he couldn't do it in time, the official said, the IRGC would wait until after the election, believing Mr. Trump would lose and be easier to target.
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Trump → do → election
Shakeri told investigators he didn't intend to propose a plan within the IRGC's timeframe.
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he → tell → timeframe
He remains at large and is believed to be in Iran.
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He → remain → Iran
ProsecutorsMr. Trump also secretly
before returning from a summit in Turkey over the summer, a move that came after intelligence warnings about an Iranian plot to target Air Force One with a surface-to-air missile.
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that → return → missile
Mr. Trump later told reporters, "I have a lot of threats."Former President Joe Biden
Merchant testified that his IRGC handler told him to "maybe have somebody murdered."
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somebody → tell → him
"He did not tell me exactly who it is, but he told me — he named three people: Donald Trump, Joe Biden and Nikki Haley," Merchant testified in court.
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Merchant → tell → court
The Biden administration lifted some sanctions on Iranian officials as it tried to renegotiate and revive the defunct Obama-era Iran nuclear deal.
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it → lift → deal
But Biden imposed sanctions on Iran when those negotiations failed.
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negotiations → impose → Iran
In an appearance on the "Build or Break" podcast this week, Haley talked about Merchant and the IRGC plot.
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Haley → build → Merchant
"The IRGC, the Iranian regime, paid a Pakistani businessman money to do it," Haley said.
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Haley → pay → it
"And that's the reason why I'm so adamant about Iran is, they are targeting Americans on American soil.
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they → target → soil
They have tried to get Trump multiple times.
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They → try → Trump
We should not be giving them even a breath when they're doing things like that.
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they → give → that
But that's because I speak out against the regime.
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I → speak → regime
We have to be truth tellers."
asserted
We → have → ?
John Bolton, Trump's former national security adviser
John Bolton, Mr. Trump's national security adviser during his first term, has also received threats from the Iranian government.
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Bolton → receive → government
Bolton has long been a hard-liner on Iran, and urged Mr. Trump to increase pressure on Iran during the president's first term.
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Bolton → urge → term
In 2022, Shahram Poursafi, a member of the IRGC, was charged with plotting Bolton's murder, the Justice Department announced at the time.
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Department → charge → time
The Justice Department said the plot was "likely in retaliation" for Soleimani's death.
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plot → say → death
But Poursafi was never caught.
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Poursafi → catch → ?
He remains wanted by the FBI.
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He → want → FBI
The bureau added him to its list of Most Wanted Terrorists just this week.
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bureau → add → Terrorists
Mike Pompeo, former secretary of state
Mike Pompeo was Mr. Trump's secretary of state when Soleimani was killed, and led the Trump administration's so-called "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran.
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Soleimani → kill → Iran
Pompeo said Soleimani was "actively plotting" to take actions "that would have put dozens, if not hundreds, of American lives at risk" when the U.S. killed him.
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U.S. → say → him
Sources told CBS News in 2022 that Pompeo was another target of the IRGC plot against Bolton.
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Pompeo → tell → Bolton
Brian Hook, former U.S. special representative for Iran
As the U.S. special representative for Iran, Brian Hook also led the "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran, drawing Iran's ire.
asserted
Hook → lead → ire
In 2022,
State Department threat assessments sent to Congress citing a "serious and credible threat" to the lives of both Pompeo and Hook.
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assessments → send → Pompeo
…and 3 more, not listed.
The Aporia
