Trump says he's left secret orders to 'bomb Iran at levels they've never seen' if he's assassinated
WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump said he has already left confidential instructions directing the US military to launch an overwhelming attack on Iran if Tehran ever succeeds in assassinating him, offering an unusual glimpse into the contingency planning surrounding threats against a sitting commander in chief.
Trump made the remarks as tensions between Washington and Tehran remain elevated following recent military exchanges and years of Iranian vows to avenge the 2020 killing of Gen Qasem Soleimani.
Speaking in an interview with the New York Post published on Friday, July 10, Trump said Iran has considered him its primary target ever since he authorized the drone strike that killed Soleimani during his first term.
The president insisted the threat has existed for years and dismissed reports suggesting Israeli intelligence had uncovered a new assassination plot.
Trump reveals contingency orders
Trump said he has already planned the US response should Iran ever carry out an attack against him.
"I've left instructions - if anything happens, to just literally bomb them at levels that they've never seen before," he said.
The president added that he has long believed he sits at the top of Iran's alleged target list because of the Soleimani operation.
Asked about reports that Israel recently warned of a fresh assassination plot, Trump said there was no new intelligence, arguing that Tehran's hostility toward him has been consistent since 2020.
"I've been No 1 for a long time," Trump said, before joking, "I hope you'll miss me."
Threats trace back to 2020
Iranian leaders have repeatedly vowed revenge for the US strike that killed Soleimani, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force, near Baghdad International Airport in January 2020.
US officials have previously acknowledged monitoring alleged Iranian plots targeting current and former American officials connected to the operation.
Trump's comments also come after surviving an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024, when a bullet grazed his ear.
Separately, US authorities have announced charges in multiple cases involving alleged threats against the president, though officials have treated those investigations independently from broader tensions with Iran.
The latest remarks add another layer to the increasingly confrontational rhetoric between Washington and Tehran, with both sides exchanging warnings in recent weeks as diplomatic efforts remain stalled.
While Trump expressed confidence that no new plot had emerged, his disclosure underscored the administration's readiness, he said, to respond forcefully to any direct attack.
