US President Donald Trump has “left instructions” for the government to bomb Iran if he is assassinated. The startling declaration came on Saturday amid open calls for his killing during the funeral of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. With no end to the ongoing war between the US and Iran in sight despite an initially signed interim deal aiming to restore peace, Trump amplified his warnings against Tehran as reports surfaced that the country was plotting to assassinate him. As established in a new interview and a social media post, the American commander-in-chief believes Iran has wanted him dead for years.
Speaking to The New York Post on Friday (US time), Trump confirmed that he had “left instructions” about what should be done in the off chance Iran acts on its purported plans to kill him. The MAGA leader’s hard-to-ignore alarming tip-off came after sources told the Wall Street Journal that Israel had shared new intelligence with the United States about Iran wanting to eliminate Trump.
Iran’s threats on Trump’s life are not new. For years, Tehran has vowed revenge for the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani at the hands of US forces. He was killed in Iraq in a drone strike in January 2020 during Trump’s first term.
In the wake of the joint US-Israeli military campaign against Iran on February 28, Tehran’s vengeful intentions may have escalated, especially with this year’s attacks killing the then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as well. At Khamenei’s funeral on Thursday, protesters unfurled banners that read “We Will Kill Trump” in Iran as anti-America chants resounded in the West Asian country.
Trump’s new warning to Iran over assassination threat
Trump, who has long been the subject of numerous assassination threats, told the New York Post that he has long been on Iran’s list.
“That’s what we’re dealing with,” he said, adding, “The only thing is, I’ve left instructions — if anything happens, to just literally bomb them at levels that they’ve never seen before.”
When asked about this week’s WSJ report about the alleged Israeli intelligence of a plot to assassinate him, Trump suggested that there was no such new plan in place from Iran’s side. Nonetheless, he reiterated, “No, no. Israel came up with nothing. No, no,” he said. “I’ve been No. 1 [on Iran’s kill list] for a long time, and it’s the way life is, you know.”
“I hope you’ll miss me,” he added.
Echoing his remarks in a Truth Social post, Trump wrote, “1000 Missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands of more to immediately follow, should the Iranian Government act on its threat, pronounced in many corners of the Globe, to assassinate, or attempt to assassinate, the sitting President of the United States of America, in this case, ME!”
Asserting that orders have already been given, he said, “Orders have already been given, and the U.S. Military is ready, willing, and able, for a one year period of time, subject to extension, to completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran – PRAISE BE TO ALLAH!”
Alluding to threats to his life at the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, Trump told reporters, “They want to take out the US leader–me. I’m on every list. I saw this morning, I’m on every single one of their lists. And so far, I guess I’ve been a little lucky, but that maybe doesn’t last very long.”
Although Trump has repeatedly brought up warnings to obliterate Iran, his latest remarks come days after the US president said that he believed the ceasefire between America and Iran was over as attacks from both countries resumed in the Strait of Hormuz.
Latest on US vs Iran warfront
While a WSJ report indicated Israel’s intelligence has disclosed Iranian threats to assassinate Trump to the US, CNN cited two sources familiar with the matter as saying that there was no indication of a new Iranian plot to kill the POTUS.
After Trump issued his threat of decimating Iran on social media on Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also shared his thoughts in an X post. Insisting that Iran had held its end of the bargain, he accused Washington of violating the memorandum of understanding (MoU) both countries signed last month.
“Iran has so far kept its word, unlike the so-called U.S. Treasury Secretary who is violating [paragraph] 9 of the MoU,” he wrote on X. “That violation follows other violations and missteps by the United States.”
The 9th paragraph of the MoU stated: “Pending the final deal, the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran agree to maintain the status quo. The Islamic Republic of Iran will maintain the current status quo of its nuclear program and the United States of America will not impose any new sanctions and will not deploy additional forces in the region.”