President Donald Trump said he has left instructions for the U.S. military to carry out a massive bombing campaign against Iran if the regime succeeds in assassinating him.
Trump disclosed the contingency plan during an interview Friday with the New York Post, noting that Iran has targeted him for years following his decision to authorize the 2020 strike that killed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Qasem Soleimani.
“I’ve been on their list for a long time. That’s what we’re dealing with,” Trump told the Post. “… The only thing is, I’ve left instructions — if anything happens, to just literally bomb them at levels that they’ve never seen before.”
The president also dismissed reports that Israel had recently warned U.S. officials about a new Iranian plot against his life, arguing that the threat was neither new nor surprising.
“No, no, Israel came up with nothing,” 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.”
Trump’s warning comes amid renewed tensions between Washington and Tehran. Mourners at the funeral of slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei this week carried banners calling for Trump’s death. Some women reportedly held signs reading “Kill Trump” and shouted vows of revenge for the supreme leader’s blood.
Iranian officials have repeatedly threatened retaliation over the killing of Soleimani, one of the regime’s most powerful military figures, explained Fox News.
The latest confrontation intensified after Iranian attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz led Trump to declare that a ceasefire with Tehran was over.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has asked us to continue ‘talks,’” Trump wrote Friday on Truth Social. “We have agreed to do so, but the United States has stated to them, in no uncertain terms, that the Cease Fire is OVER! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
The White House has nevertheless confirmed that diplomatic contacts with Iran are continuing.
Trump also addressed Iran’s threats during a press conference at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, pointing to the deaths of several generations of Iranian leaders while acknowledging that he remains vulnerable himself.
“They had leaders, they’re gone. Then they had another set of leaders, they’re gone,” he said. “Now they have another set of leaders — they may be gone, who knows? And you know what? I may be gone too. Because I’m their No. 1 target — it’s out all over the place. Because they’re scum.”
Along with his daughter Ivanka, the president has faced assassination threats at home as well as abroad. A gunman opened fire during a July 2024 campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, striking Trump in the ear before being killed by law enforcement.
