Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed during an interview, on Sunday, that Iran made two attempts to assassinate President Trump.
Speaking with host Bret Baier, Netanyahu didn’t mince words, pointing directly at Tehran as the source of multiple plots to eliminate the man he called Iran’s “enemy number one.” The interview, which aired on Fox’s “Special Report,” adds a chilling new dimension to ongoing tensions between Israel, Iran, and the United States.
“These people who chant ‘Death to America’ have tried to assassinate President Trump twice,” Netanyahu said, referring to Iran Islamist rulers. “They killed 241 of your Marines in Beirut, injured and killed thousands of American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, tried to bomb a restaurant in Washington, D.C., and yet people still think it’s a good idea to let them have nuclear weapons?”
Israeli Prime Minister @netanyahu on intel of Iranian attempts to assassinate President @realDonaldTrump— "he's enemy number one.." and on when he let President Trump know of the plans for launching the strikes #FoxNews #SpecialReport #Israel pic.twitter.com/l2xX10ZwfH
— Bret Baier (@BretBaier) June 15, 2025
Baier, appearing visibly surprised, pressed Netanyahu for clarification: “You just said Iran tried to assassinate President Trump twice. Do you have intel that the assassination attempts were directly from Iran?”
“Through proxies, yes. Through their intelligence services, yes,” Netanyahu confirmed. “They want to kill him. For them, he’s enemy number one. Look, they also tried to kill me, but I’m just his junior partner. They understand that President Trump is the biggest obstacle to their dream of becoming a nuclear-armed power.”
Netanyahu’s remarks appear to align with reports from late 2024, when the U.S. Department of Justice charged Iranian operative Farhad Shakeri in connection to a plot involving the targeting of Trump and others. Prosecutors alleged that Shakeri was instructed by Iran’s intelligence services to organize criminal associates inside the United States to help carry out the plot.
At the time, FBI Director Christopher Wray confirmed the gravity of the situation, stating, “The charges announced today expose Iran’s continued brazen attempts to target U.S. citizens, including President-elect Donald Trump, other government leaders, and dissidents who criticize the regime in Tehran.”
Though Netanyahu did not name specific incidents, his comments likely refer to that Shakeri-linked case, not the recent failed attempt on Trump’s life in Butler, Pennsylvania, which is still under investigation and not officially tied to Iran.
Netanyahu’s revelation came just days after Israel conducted a massive wave of missile strikes against Iranian military and nuclear infrastructure. The strikes, according to Israeli officials, were designed not only to delay Iran’s nuclear ambitions but also to send a clear message that the regime’s days are numbered.
“Israel isn’t just defending itself—we’re defending the entire free world,” Netanyahu said. “If Iran acquires nuclear weapons, every Western city becomes a potential hostage.”
Meanwhile, Trump has remained silent on the assassination claims, though his campaign has previously pointed to foreign threats—including from Iran—as evidence of why strong leadership is urgently needed back in the White House.
With Iran’s aggression escalating and global tensions rising, Netanyahu’s warning serves as a stark reminder: the world is once again on edge, and weak leadership could come at a deadly cost.