Trump’s Death Threats: “Bomb Them Like Never Before”
President Donald Trump, branding himself as Iran’s “No. 1 target,” has issued chilling instructions to his advisers: if he’s assassinated, the U.S. military should unleash unprecedented destruction on Iran.
“I’ve left instructions — if anything happens, to just literally bomb them at levels that they’ve never seen before,” he declared in a recent interview.
Trump has made it clear that any attempt on his life by Iranian officials would result in obliteration. In February 2025, while signing an executive order imposing “maximum pressure” on Iran, he warned that the country “would be obliterated” if he were killed.
“I’ve left instructions if they do it, they get obliterated, there won’t be anything left,” he reiterated.
Despite dismissing reports of a new Iranian plot against him, Trump’s comments come after a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, where he emphasized his precarious position on Iran’s kill list. He even suggested that reporters could be on a “dangerous flight” back home as tensions escalated.
“No, no. Israel came up with nothing. I’ve been No. 1 [on Iran’s kill list] for a long time,” he stated, adding a dark twist: “I hope you’ll miss me.”
During a press conference, Trump again claimed he was “No. 1 on the list for killing.” When questioned about security measures on Air Force One, he cryptically responded, “Because you’re probably on a dangerous flight.”
Trump acknowledged the constant threat he faces, saying, “Well, I have a threat all the time. I’m No. 1 on their list.”
Iran has vowed revenge for the 2020 drone strike that killed Qassem Soleimani, a high-ranking commander in the Quds Force. This comes amid escalating calls for Trump’s death as the U.S.-Israel conflict in Iran intensifies, resulting in the deaths of key Iranian leaders.
By 2024, U.S. intelligence had gathered evidence suggesting Tehran was exploring ways to eliminate then-candidate Trump. In September of that year, he claimed there were “big threats on my life by Iran,” although two assassination attempts against him that summer were not linked to Iran.
A Pakistani national with alleged ties to Iran was charged with plotting to murder U.S. officials, including Trump. Asif Raza Merchant was accused of attempting to hire hitmen who were actually undercover agents.
In November 2025, an Iranian operative was implicated in hiring New Yorkers from prison to assassinate a regime critic and admitted to being tasked with finding a hit squad for Trump’s assassination.
Farhad Shakeri claimed he was directed by Iranian officials to focus on surveilling and ultimately assassinating Trump.
Weeks after returning to the White House in February 2025, Trump reiterated that Iran would face total destruction if he were killed by state actors.
“That would be a terrible thing for them to do,” he warned. “If they did that, they would be obliterated. That would be the end.”
Last January, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian denied any plans to kill Trump, labeling such claims as schemes designed to incite fear of Iran.
Pezeshkian insisted there were “none whatsoever” plots against the president from Iran.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei echoed this sentiment, calling allegations part of a “repulsive” plot by Israel to sow discord between the U.S. and Iran.
Trump has consistently threatened to annihilate Iran entirely. He stated that if ceasefire negotiations fail and attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz persist, Iran would be “blown off the face of the earth.”
At NATO this week, Trump recounted the toll of U.S. strikes in Iran and ominously noted that he might also be “gone” if the conflict continues.
“They had 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.”
