Iran eyes revenge for Soleimani as WHCA Dinner shooting exposes security ‘vulnerability,’ expert warns
The shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner has exposed a serious security vulnerability surrounding President Donald Trump and other senior U.S. officials, a former Defense Department intelligence officer has warned.
And with tensions between Washington and Tehran rising and ceasefire talks stalled, Andrew Badger told Fox News Digital the April 25 breach could further increase Iran’s "motivation" to target Trump and others in the administration.
"This could show that there is a vulnerability in terms of potentially accessing President Trump or senior officials," Badger said before warning of "significant vulnerabilities."
"When you're looking at your adversary, and you're seeing weakness, it also fuels motivation," he said before claiming that "Iran has the motive to strike at senior Trump officials, including President Trump."
"Iran, which has a demonstrated history of using criminals and proxy individuals, could certainly look at this as an opportunity."
Chaos broke out at the Washington Hilton Hotel when a suspected gunman, identified as 31-year-old Cole Thomas Allen of Torrance, California, stormed a security checkpoint and opened fire.
Trump and other administration officials were rushed out of the ballroom as law enforcement responded. Allen is currently in custody and made an initial court appearance on Monday.
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The gathering included Trump, first lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, journalists and senior administration officials — a concentration of leadership that Badger said presented significant risk.
"The top three of the line of succession were at this single event," Badger noted.
He added that "eight of the nine line-of-succession officials were at this single event," warning of a worst-case scenario: "If this individual would have somehow worn a suicide vest, you could have eliminated all three of those individuals."
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"Imagine if there were multiple people. Imagine if he was wearing suicide vests. Imagine if he used some type of drone," Badger said, emphasizing the scale of potential exposure at a nonsecure venue.
The incident, he said, unfolds against the backdrop of ongoing tensions with Iran, which have escalated amid U.S. and Israeli targeting of Iranian officials and leadership.
Badger pointed to longstanding Iranian hostility tied to the 2020 killing of Qassem Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s Quds Force, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike near Baghdad International Airport ordered by Trump.
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"There has been a driving animus, a driving motivation in the Iranian regime — which they’ve stated publicly — to get revenge for that killing of Soleimani," said Badger, who served on the front lines of human intelligence operations, including a 2014 deployment to Afghanistan.
After Soleimani was killed, Ayatollah Khamenei warned that those responsible for the attack would face "severe revenge," adding that the death would strengthen and intensify resistance against the United States and Israel.
Badger warned that Iran and other adversaries have increasingly relied on unconventional tactics. "Iran and other state actors such as Russia have increasingly reverted to contracting criminals, or gangsters, to conduct hybrid warfare," he said.
Following the incident, Trump underscored the need for more secure venues, advocating for a dedicated White House ballroom.
"It’s got every single bell and whistle you can possibly have for security and safety... It’s really what you need," Trump said on Fox News’ "The Sunday Briefing."