On 14 September 2020, United States President Donald Trump tweeted and warned Iran of severe consequences if it tried to carry out an assassination attempt or attack against the US. This came a day after a media report alleged that the Iranian government was hatching a plot to assassinate American ambassador to South Africa Lana Marks. The Iranian foreign ministry called the allegation of an assassination plot “baseless” and part of “repetitive and rotten methods to create an anti-Iranian atmosphere on the international stage.”