Iran has formally rejected claims by anonymous US intelligence sources in US media this week that the Islamic Republic is supposedly plotting to kill Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump. Prolific Iranian- American political observer Dr. Mohammad Marandi tells Sputnik why the claims make no sense, and what they are designed to conceal.

Iran considers former president Donald Trump a “criminal” who “must be prosecuted and punished” for the January 2020 assassination of IRGC Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani, but “has chosen the legal path to bring him to justice,” the Iranian mission to the United Nations has told Sputnik.

The allegations made in US media this week that Tehran was plotting to kill Trump using extrajudicial means are “unsubstantiated and malicious,” the mission added, echoing comments made by other Iranian officials that the allegations carry no substance whatsoever.