Intelligence Reports: Iran Plots to Assassinate US Ambassador to South Africa

Tensions between Iran and the US reached a fevering point in January when the US killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani (AFP/File photo)
Tensions between Iran and the US reached a fevering point in January when the US killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani (AFP/File photo)
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Intelligence Reports: Iran Plots to Assassinate US Ambassador to South Africa

Tensions between Iran and the US reached a fevering point in January when the US killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani (AFP/File photo)
Tensions between Iran and the US reached a fevering point in January when the US killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani (AFP/File photo)

US intelligence reports revealed Iranian threats to assassinate Ambassador Lana Marks in revenge for top general Qassem Soleimani who was killed in a US airstrike in Baghdad.

Citing intelligence papers, Politico said US officials have been aware of a threat against the ambassador since the spring, however the intelligence about the threat to the ambassador has become more specific in recent weeks.

The Iranian Embassy in Pretoria is involved in the plot, according to the report.

This comes as Iran continues to seek ways to retaliate for the killing of Soleimani earlier this year, the officials said.

"If carried out, it could dramatically ratchet up already serious tensions between the US and Iran and create enormous pressure on Trump to strike back — possibly in the middle of a tense election season."

A US government official said Marks has been made aware of the threat.

The intelligence also has been included in the CIA World Intelligence Review, which is a classified product that is accessible to senior policy and security officials across the US government, as well as certain lawmakers and their staff, Politico reported.

Marks, 66, was sworn in as US ambassador last October. She’s known Trump for more than two decades and has been a member of his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.

The Iranian government also operates clandestine networks in South Africa, the officials said, noting that it has had a foothold there for decades. In 2015, international reports revealed leaked intelligence documents that detailed an extensive secret network of Iranian operatives in South Africa.

Marks could be an easier target than US diplomats in other parts of the world, such as Western Europe, where the US has stronger relationships with local law enforcement and intelligence services.

Iran has a history of carrying out assassinations beyond their country’s borders, as well as taking hostages, including its attempt to kidnap Saudi State Minister for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir, back when he was the Kingdom's ambassador to the US in 2011.

Although Iran has generally avoided directly targeting US diplomats in recent decades, but Iranian-backed militias have long attacked US diplomatic facilities and personnel in Iraq and Lebanon and other places.

Trump alleged after Soleimani’s killing that the Iranian general had been plotting attacks on US diplomatic missions.

“They were looking to blow up our embassy,” Trump said in January, referring to the massive, heavily fortified US diplomatic compound in Iraq. Later, in a Fox News interview, he said, “I can reveal I believe it probably would’ve been four embassies.”



7 more Turkish Soldiers Die from Methane Gas in Iraqi Cave, Raising Deaths to 12

FILE PHOTO: A Turkish flag flies on a passenger ferry with the Bosphorus in the background in Istanbul, Türkiye, January 27, 2020. REUTERS/Murad Sezer
FILE PHOTO: A Turkish flag flies on a passenger ferry with the Bosphorus in the background in Istanbul, Türkiye, January 27, 2020. REUTERS/Murad Sezer
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7 more Turkish Soldiers Die from Methane Gas in Iraqi Cave, Raising Deaths to 12

FILE PHOTO: A Turkish flag flies on a passenger ferry with the Bosphorus in the background in Istanbul, Türkiye, January 27, 2020. REUTERS/Murad Sezer
FILE PHOTO: A Turkish flag flies on a passenger ferry with the Bosphorus in the background in Istanbul, Türkiye, January 27, 2020. REUTERS/Murad Sezer

Seven more Turkish soldiers have died from methane gas poisoning following a cave search operation in northern Iraq, Türkiye's Defense Ministry said Monday, bringing the death toll to 12. The soldiers had been searching for the remains of a fellow soldier previously killed by Kurdish militants.

The troops were searching a mountain cave when 19 of them were exposed to the gas, according to the ministry. Five of the soldiers died Sunday from the colorless, odorless, flammable gas that can cause asphyxiation in sufficient concentration, and seven more succumbed on Monday, Reuters reported.

“We pray for God’s mercy upon our heroic martyrs who lost their lives in this tragic event,” the ministry said Monday, also expressing hope for a rapid recovery for other troops that were affected.

It said Defense Minister Yasar Guler and armed forces' commanders were traveling to the region to carry out “inspections and evaluations” and attend a ceremony as the soldiers were flown to their hometowns for burial.

Speaking at the ceremony, Guler commended the troops' “great courage and sacrifice,” adding: “Our grief is immense and our feelings are beyond words.”

The ministry said the incident took place in the “Claw-Lock Operation region” — a reference to an operation launched against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, in northern Iraq in April 2022.

There was no immediate information on the condition of the seven other soldiers who were affected by the gas.

Türkiye and the PKK have waged a 40-year conflict that has often spilled over into Iraq and Syria. Türkiye has set up a series of bases in northern Iraq, where the PKK has been established for decades.

The PKK, which is considered a terrorist organization by Türkiye and most of the West, announced in May that it would disband and renounce armed conflict as part of a new peace initiative with Türkiye.

Its fighters are expected to begin handing over their weapons over the next few days in the first concrete move toward disarmament.

According to the ministry, the Turkish unit overcome by methane gas had been searching for the remains of an infantry officer killed by “terrorist gunfire” during a search-and-clear mission in May 2022. Recovery teams have been scouring the area for the past three years.

The cave where the incident occurred sits at an altitude of 852 meters (2,795 feet) and had previously been used by the PKK as a field hospital.