President Trump on Friday told The Post he has “left instructions” should Iran succeed in their plots to assassinate him — and there’ll be hell to pay.
“I’ve been on their list for a long time. That’s what we’re dealing with,” he said. “… The only thing is, I’ve left instructions — if anything happens, to just literally bomb them at levels that they’ve never seen before.”
Asked about recent reports that Israel this week flagged intel of a plot to take out the US president, Trump indicated there was no fresh plan from Iran — but said Tehran has wanted him dead for years.
“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, sounding resigned to the reality that Tehran will never stop trying to off him.
Later Friday, CNN reported that the Israeli intelligence shared with the US was unspecified and did not include a formal plot, but rather involved information that Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander Ahmad Vahidi wanted Trump dead
Iran has openly sought the president’s assassination since 2020, when Trump directed the attack that killed Iranian military officer Qasem Soleimani.
There have also been multiple foiled assassination plots against Trump since an assassin’s bullet grazed his ear at a political rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024.
US-Iran tensions have been supercharged in public this week. During the funeral for the killed supreme leader, Iranian demonstrators unfurled giant banners calling for Trump’s killing.
“Why shouldn’t we kill the one who killed my imam and my leader?” a eulogist at one of the memorial events said this week, according to Iranian media. “Trump’s killing is our duty. … Why is the most despicable man in the world still alive?”
Trump in early 2025 mentioned leaving instructions to “obliterate” Iran should they assassinate him, but his comments on Friday seemed more urgent following the massive displays and calls for his death in Iran this week.
The latest remarks came days after Trump called off the US-Iran cease-fire and their nascent memorandum of understanding after Iran fired on three ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday and Tuesday.
In response, the president removed the US waiver on Iranian oil sanctions and launched nearly 200 strikes across Iran on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Trump’s frustration with the Iranians was on full display at the NATO summit in Ankara this week, calling them “evil” for unleashing attacks in the strait despite the cease-fire and an additional promise to ramp down tensions as they buried slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Despite his efforts to make a deal with Iran, Trump openly talked in Turkey that Iran was still out to kill him.
“They had leaders, they’re gone. Then they had another set of leaders, they’re gone. Now they have another set of leaders — they may be gone, who knows?” Trump said at the summit. “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.”
“That’s the way they act and that’s the way they’ve done it for 47 years,” he added.
Trump’s frustration with the Iranians was on full display at the NATO summit in Ankara this week, calling them “evil” for unleashing attacks in the strait despite the cease-fire and an additional promise to ramp down tensions as they buried slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Despite his efforts to make a deal with Iran, Trump openly talked in Turkey that Iran was still out to kill him.
“They had leaders, they’re gone. Then they had another set of leaders, they’re gone. Now they have another set of leaders — they may be gone, who knows?” Trump said at the summit. “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.”
“That’s the way they act and that’s the way they’ve done it for 47 years,” he added.
The president then swapped planes on his route home from Ankara on Wednesday, with the White House later acknowledging it was a security tactic to ensure Trump’s safety after telling reporters that Iran wanted him dead.
