Ahmadinejad Nearly Shot by Secret Service Shotgun, Book Says

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (C) waves alongside Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs Elias Jaua (C-R) outside of the funeral of the late President Hugo Chavez, in Caracas, on March 8, 2013. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)

The U.S. Secret Service nearly shot Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad several years ago, according to a new report.

Marc Ambinder and D.B. Grady, the authors of upcoming book “Deep State: Inside the Government Secrecy Industry,” said that in 2006, there was a report in President George W. Bush’s daily intelligence brief that said Ahmadinejad was in the proximity of shotgun fire during the United Nations General Assembly.  

“A U.S. Secret Service agent, in an apparent accident, discharged his shotgun as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was loading his motorcade at the InterContinental Hotel yesterday,” the line reads, according to The Atlantic.

The Secret Service agent was adjusting a side-mounted shotgun when it went off.

“Everyone just stopped. The Iranians looked at us and we looked at the Iranians. The agent began to apologize. Ahmadinejad just turned his head and got into his car,” the Atlantic quoted an official as saying.

However, Reuters reporter Anthony De Rose tweeted: “The Secret Service didn’t almost shoot Ahmadinejad, but an agent accidentally discharged a shotgun in his proximity.”

Neither Iranian officials or Ahmadinejad told anyone about the incident.

“Deep State,” which will look into the “secrecy apparatus of the United States,” will be released in April, reported The Daily Mail.

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