Report: Iran planning to kill US envoy to South Africa

The Iranian government is weighing a plot to assassinate the US ambassador to South Africa, a report said yesterday.

Authorities have been aware of a general threat against Ambassador Lana Marks since the spring, but intelligence reports about the plot have become more specific in recent weeks, Politico reported, citing two unnamed government officials

Marks, 66, was sworn in as the US ambassador last October. According to the report, intelligence services are not sure why Iran would target Marks, who does not appear to have any known links to the country.

But, news of the plan comes as Iran continues to seek ways to retaliate following US President Donald Trump’s order to kill a Iranian General Qassem Soleimani earlier this year, the officials said.

On 3 January, a US drone strike in Iraq killed Soleimani, leader of the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force. Washington had accused Soleimani of masterminding attacks by Iran-aligned militias on US forces in the region.

READ: CIA chief ‘behind Soleimani’s assassination’ killed in downed plane in Afghanistan