U.S. Intelligence Skeptical of Israeli Iran Assassination Warning for Trump

The U.S. intelligence community did not believe Israel's warning about an Iranian plot to assassinate President Trump during his visit to Turkey last week. According to reporting from The Washington Post, CIA analysts found the intelligence unconvincing and classified it as "low confidence." Yet the threat was treated seriously enough that Trump was moved from his scheduled aircraft to an airport catering truck, which transported him to an alternate military plane that carried him from Ankara to Britain.

The skepticism among American intelligence officials ran deeper than simple doubt about the threat itself. Some U.S. officials suspected that Israel had presented the warning partly to shape Trump's thinking on regional policy—specifically to influence his approach toward Turkey and his relationship with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. American officials noted this fit a broader pattern: they believe Israeli intelligence reports have been calibrated, at least in some cases, to steer presidential decision-making. The concern centers on Israel's unease about warming ties between Washington and Ankara, a shift that appears to worry Israeli leadership.

Meanwhile, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee took a forceful public stance on a different security matter unfolding in the West Bank. Israeli settlers had maintained a five-day siege of a Palestinian home in the village of Qusra, and the family inside included an American citizen. Huckabee called the settlers "terrorists" on social media, stating that the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem had been deeply involved in seeking resolution. He said the IDF and Israeli police arrived at the scene at his request to remove what he termed "the Israeli terrorists doing this." Huckabee characterized their actions as "disgusting" and "thuggish behavior" meant to intimidate and harass the family. He added that the White House had not needed to formally intervene because the embassy had kept Washington continuously informed.

On the Iranian side, Tehran rejected Trump's repeated claims that the United States maintains "total control" of the Strait of Hormuz. Trump had told reporters on Tuesday that America alone controlled the waterway. Iran's newly established Persian Gulf Strait Authority responded on social media, stating flatly that the strait "remains blocked and will not be reopened until Iran's conditions are accepted." The authority dismissed repeated statements by U.S. officials about lifting the blockade, saying such rhetoric had no bearing on the actual situation on the ground.

In Lebanon, negotiations continued over the mechanism that would oversee Hezbollah's disarmament under a June agreement tying Israel's phased withdrawal to the militant group's disarmament. Israel and Lebanon had agreed on a shortlist of potential countries—Britain, Italy, Switzerland, and Indonesia—that could contribute personnel or troops to verify compliance. The list emerged from U.S.-mediated talks in Rome the previous week. A Lebanese official told Reuters that while the two sides had agreed on the candidates, the United States would make the final decision about which countries would participate. An Israeli Embassy spokesperson said negotiations over the body's composition were still ongoing and no agreement had been finalized.

An Israeli military investigation concluded that a Palestinian detainee tied to a bed by soldiers from the ultra-Orthodox Netzah Yehuda battalion had attempted to harm himself. The military acknowledged, however, that the soldiers' conduct—photographing the detainee and sharing the image online—violated army values and expected standards. Several soldiers and commanders faced discipline: the company commander was removed from his position and transferred to a staff role; the deputy battalion commander received a command reprimand; the soldier who restrained the detainee was sentenced to five days in military detention and removed from combat duty; the soldier who photographed him also received five days in detention; another soldier was confined to base for fourteen days. Disciplinary action against two additional soldiers from other units remained pending.

In Gaza, an Israeli airstrike critically wounded a Palestinian man in what the military described as a strike targeting a Hamas commander planning attacks against Israeli troops. Palestinian medics and witnesses said the man had been riding in a rickshaw in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza when struck. The airstrike marked the first major strike in over a week, following U.S. pressure on Israel to scale back operations as it implements the latest version of Trump's plan to end the war. The Israeli military said its forces would remain deployed in the area and continue operations against what it termed immediate threats.