should respond if Iran ever attempts to assassinate him, warning that such an act would lead to the country’s complete destruction.
The revelation comes days after Trump authorized a coordinated U.S. airstrike targeting three of Iran’s nuclear sites (Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan) in what he described as a decisive attempt to halt Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. The move marked a major escalation in long-standing tensions between Washington and Tehran.
Speaking at a press conference alongside Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Trump said the objective was “the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat.”
He added (via The Mirror): “Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success.”
While the military operation drew sharp global reactions, concerns are now growing over potential Iranian retaliation, including the possibility of an assassination attempt on Trump himself.
This isn’t the first time such fears have surfaced. During Trump’s first term, he ordered the 2020 drone strike that killed Qassem Soleimani, the powerful commander of Iran’s Quds Force.
The strike, carried out near Baghdad International Airport, was condemned by Iranian officials, who labeled it an act of international terrorism and vowed revenge, the BBC reported at the time.
In the years since, U.S. intelligence agencies have reportedly identified multiple plots linked to Iranian operatives attempting to target Trump and other officials involved in the Soleimani strike.
One such plot, allegedly involving a Pakistani national with ties to Iran, surfaced in 2023 in what authorities described as a murder-for-hire scheme against former U.S. officials.
In a previously undisclosed Oval Office briefing from earlier this year, Trump addressed the growing threat directly. “If they did that, they would be obliterated,” he said. “That would be the end. I’ve left instructions. If they do it, they get obliterated. There won’t be anything left.”
Trump’s comments were echoed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who warned in a Fox News interview last week that Trump remains Iran’s top target.
“He killed Qassem Soleimani,” Netanyahu said. “He’s made it very clear: no nuclear weapons, no uranium enrichment. He’s been forceful, and for them, he’s enemy number one.”
Following the recent strikes, Trump also signed an executive order directing his cabinet to increase pressure on Tehran. The order includes renewed sanctions, expanded surveillance on Iranian proxy groups, and directives to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons or long-range missile capabilities, Al Jazeera detailed.
It also calls for dismantling Iran’s terrorist networks and curbing its conventional and unconventional military activities.
National security officials are reportedly reviewing updated intelligence assessments on possible retaliatory threats to Trump and other former officials.
