Iran has never plotted to kill Republican U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated in an NBC News interview on Tuesday, refuting previous claims from Trump and the U.S. government.
In November, the U.S. Justice Department charged an Iranian man in connection with an alleged plot orchestrated by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps to assassinate the U.S. president-elect. Law enforcement authorities foiled the purported plan before any attack took place.
Trump had previously suggested during the U.S. election campaign that Iran might have been behind attempts to kill him.
“None whatsoever,” Pezeshkian replied on NBC News when asked if Iran had any plan to kill Trump. “We have never attempted this to begin with, and we never will.”
Trump, who won the U.S. election and will take office on Monday, survived two assassination attempts during the campaign—one in September while he was golfing in West Palm Beach, Florida, and another during a July rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Investigators have found no evidence of Iranian involvement in either attempt.
Iran has also denied past U.S. claims of interference in American affairs, including through cyber operations.
Tehran has consistently accused Washington of meddling in its affairs for decades, citing events ranging from the 1953 coup against its prime minister to the 2020 killing of its military commander in a U.S. drone strike.
