THE Iranian government is planning to assassinate the U.S Ambassador to South Africa, Lana Marks.
U.S. officials said they were aware of the plot and has informed the 66 years old Ambassador.
An intelligence community directive known as “Duty to Warn,” requires U.S. spy agencies to notify a potential victim if intelligence indicates their life could be in danger.
In the case of U.S. government officials, credible threats would be included in briefings and security planning.
The intelligence community is not sure why Iran would target Marks, who does not appear to have any known links to the country, but, there are speculations that it was part of a detailed plan to revenge the death of Qassem Soleimani, a powerful Iranian general, who was assassinated by Donald Trump’s administration.
Soleimani led the Quds Force, a unit of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that oversees much of the country’s military activities outside its borders.
Most Americans blame him for the death of numerous U.S. troops in the region
The killing of Soleiman by a U.S. drone strike in January, the U.S Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, said, was to re-establish a deterrent against Iran.
Trump also stated that the general had been plotting to attack American diplomatic missions., asserting, “they were looking to blow up our embassy; I can reveal, I believe it probably would’ve been four embassies.’
Marks, who has known Trump for more than 20 years, was sworn in as the U.S. ambassador in October, 2019.
She was born in South Africa and speaks some of the country’s key languages, including Afrikaans and Xhosa.
