According to an intelligence report obtained by Yahoo News, the U.S. government believes that Iran may attempt to kill current or former senior American officials to avenge the death of its top military and intelligence commander.
Qassim Soleimani was killed in a drone strike in January 2020 while he was on a trip to Iraq. Since that time, the regime in Tehran has made a number of threats and begun legal proceedings against US officials.
The threat of an attack is high as President Biden begins his trip to the Middle East.
In order to avenge the death of IRGC-QF Commander Soleimani in January 2020, the Iranian regime has launched a multipronged campaign that includes threats of lethal action, international legal maneuvering, and the issuance of Iranian arrest warrants and sanctions.
The Quds Force is part of Iran's military.
The National Counter terrorism Center declined to comment. A request for comment from the U.S. Secret Service was not responded to.
According to the report, Tehran has publicly expressed a willingness to conduct lethal operations inside the United States and has consistently identified former President Donald Trump, former Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, and former CENTCOM Commander General Kenneth McKenzie as among its priority targets for retribution. Iran would probably view the killing of a US official as an act of revenge for Soleimani's death.
A spokesman for Trump didn't respond to a request for comment from Yahoo News, and a spokesman for Pompeo didn't reply to text messages or emails. The University of South Florida sent messages that were not responded to by McKenzie.
As the Biden administration contemplates reviving the Iran nuclear deal established under Obama, it is also considering dismantling it.
Two days after the White House announced Biden's trip to the Middle East, the intelligence report was marked "Not For Public Release" and "For Official Use Only"
After landing in Israel, Biden is scheduled to fly to Saudi Arabia.
Jake Sullivan, Biden's national security advisor, said on Monday that Iran would give missiles and training to Russia in support of its war against Ukraine. Biden is going to the Middle East for the first time as president and he is going to try to calm tensions in the region.
The intelligence bulletin obtained by Yahoo News appears to be part of the Biden administration's broader efforts to call attention to the threat posed by the Iranian regime.
The US will protect and defend its citizens, including those who formerly served, according to a statement from the National Security Council.
The NSC believes that a return to full implementation of the Iran nuclear deal is in America's national interest. It is the best way to restrict Iran's nuclear program and address Iran's destabilizing conduct.
In the government, the June intelligence bulletin was widely distributed.
Even before Soleimani was killed, the intelligence community and federal law enforcement agencies were worried about reprisal attacks from Iran.
After his death against officials involved in the Soleimani strike, Congress appropriated 15 million dollars for security for departing Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and others.
According to a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracy, Soleimani was the chief architect of Iran's regional policy.
The U.S. blow against Soleimani is still an unhealed wound for the world's foremost state sponsor of terrorism, with Tehran looking to wash blood away with blood. He told Yahoo News that the fact that some U.S. officials need round the clock security due to the Islamic Republic's threats and operations should be a wake up call to those who only see Tehran as a potential proliferation problem.
According to the intelligence report, the Biden administration didn't think that Iranian thirst for revenge would abate over time. There are questions about how Biden will negotiate with a regime that wants to kill Americans.
The administration is trying to negotiate a deal with a government that has a river of terror threats against current and former US officials.
The NSC said that the Biden administration and U.S. allies are discussing scenarios with and without a return to full implementation of the Iran nuclear deal. The President will do what is in the best interest of the country.
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