Trump being ‘suckered’ into conflict with Iran by US officials, claims Tehran

Iranian foreign minister points finger at Mike Pompeo, as Borzou Daragahi reports

The Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif (AP)

Iran’s foreign minister has accused his American counterpart of attempting to “sucker” the US president, Donald Trump, into an armed conflict by leaking what he described as a false report of an Iranian assassination scheme.  

Mohammad Javad Zarif accused the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, of being the source of an article published by Politico on Sunday that cited unnamed American officials describing intelligence reports which allege Tehran was scheming to kill the US envoy to South Africa, Lana Marks.

The purported assassination plan would be in retaliation for the US killing of Qassem Suleimani, the late commander of Iran’s Quds foreign expeditionary force. Ms Marks, a handbag designer who founded an eponymous brand, is a member of the president’s exclusive Mar-a-Lago golf club in Florida.