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Iran is reportedly plotting to assassinate the US ambassador to South Africa to avenge the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani, according to a Politico report, citing intelligence documents seen by US officials.
US intelligence chiefs said they have been aware of the threats against Ambassador Lana Marks, 66, since the beginning of the year, but details of the plot against her suddenly became more specific in recent weeks.
A US government official told Politico that the Iranian embassy in Pretoria was involved in the plot and that Marks had been aware of the threat.
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Under a 2015 directive known as the “Duty to Warn,” US intelligence agencies are required by law to warn people if they are known to face an imminent risk of murder, kidnapping, or serious bodily injury.
Politico reported that Marks, a South African-born luxury handbag designer, was likely targeted by the Islamic Republic for her proximity to US President Donald Trump.
Marks was a member of Trump’s exclusive Mar-a-Lago club in Florida before being nominated as an ambassador by the president in 2018.
Aside from Marks’ relationship with Trump, officials noted that it was unclear why they singled it out.
Intelligence officials have suggested that carrying out an attack in South Africa could be easier than targeting American diplomats in other parts of the world where better relations between the US, local police, and national intelligence services could see. foiled an attack.
‘Ready for it’
Tensions between Iran and the United States, which had already been deteriorating since Trump walked away from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, reached a boiling point on January 3 when Washington killed Soleimani in a targeted drone strike.
Trump claimed at the time that Soleimani was planning attacks on US embassies, but US officials later questioned the claims.
Days after the attack, Iran fired ballistic missiles at a military base in Iraq that housed US troops, causing “traumatic” brain injuries but no casualties.
Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, head of the US Central Command, said last month that he expected a new “response” from Iran to the current US presence in Iraq.
“I don’t know what the nature of that response will be, but we will certainly be prepared for it, should it happen,” he said.
The United States has more recently been calling on the United Nations to extend its arms embargo on Iran, which is set to expire in October.
Washington proposed a resolution to do so last month that failed, and the United States is now threatening to unleash sanctions on the country if the UN does not extend the embargo.
