INDIA PERSPECTIVE

New Delhi, July 11, 2026. India's press is cautiously reporting the alert transmitted by Israel to the United States about a new Iranian plot to assassinate Donald Trump, while also highlighting the gray areas surrounding this intelligence.

According to reports, India's government is closely following the developments, with the Indian media citing the Wall Street Journal and CNN, as reported by The Hindu Business Line and Free Press Journal, that Israel shared this week with the US government elements of a "specific plan" by Tehran against the American president. However, US intelligence agencies have not independently verified this information before receiving the Israeli alert, a nuance that the Indian press is careful to emphasize.

More significant for New Delhi's editorial boards, some US officials cited by CNN estimate that this intelligence could also be part of a broader effort by Israel to influence Trump's decision on a possible escalation of military action against Iran. Swarajya and Free Press Journal are echoing this reservation, also recalling that Tehran has vowed to avenge the death of Qassem Soleimani, killed in 2020 on Trump's orders, as well as that of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who died in February in a US strike.

In Ankara, on the sidelines of the NATO summit, Trump himself mentioned the threat: "They want to take out the US leader, me. I'm on every single one of their lists." He added that he has been "lucky" so far, without certainty that this will last. Scenes of crowds chanting "Death to Trump" during Khamenei's funeral in Mashhad have been widely reported by Indian titles as an illustration of the tension.

The Deccan Chronicle's editorial is taking a step back, talking about a "clash of egos" between the US and Tehran, regretting the lack of a diplomatic exit as the June 17 truce has collapsed, the US has struck nearly 100 Iranian targets, and Iran has retaliated against Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar. For this editorial line, the first victims of the escalation remain Iranian civilians and the global economy, via the rise in oil prices, rather than the political protagonists themselves.