Trump Threatens Total Annihilation of Iran if Assassinated
President Donald Trump claims he is Iran’s “No. 1 target” and has left explicit orders to his advisers: if he is assassinated, the U.S. military should “literally bomb” Iran at unprecedented levels.
“I’ve left instructions — if anything happens, to just literally bomb them at levels that they’ve never seen before,” Trump stated in a recent interview.
He has made it clear that any attempt on his life by Iranian officials would result in the country facing total destruction. In February 2025, while signing an executive order for “maximum pressure” against Iran, he warned that the nation “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 to kill him, Trump’s comments come after a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, where he expressed concerns about his safety and hinted at mysterious security measures. He claimed he was at the top of Iran’s kill list and warned reporters they could be on a “dangerous flight” back home.
“No, no. Israel came up with nothing,” Trump said regarding intelligence from Israel about threats against him. “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.”
During a press conference, he again asserted his position as “No. 1 on the list for killing.” When asked about closing window blinds on Air Force One during a return trip, he replied, “Because you’re probably on a dangerous flight.”
Trump acknowledged that he faces constant threats from Iran. “Well, I have a threat all the time. I’m No. 1 on their list, before you,” he told reporters.
Iran has vowed retaliation for the 2020 drone strike that killed Qassem Soleimani, a high-ranking commander in the Quds Force. The ongoing U.S.-Israel conflict has intensified calls for Trump’s death, especially following the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other top officials.
By 2024, U.S. intelligence had gathered evidence suggesting Tehran was exploring ways to assassinate Trump. In September of that year, he claimed there were “big threats on my life by Iran.” However, 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, according to federal prosecutors. Asif Raza Merchant was accused of attempting to hire hitmen who were undercover officers.
In November 2025, an Iranian operative was charged with hiring New Yorkers from prison to assassinate a critic of the regime and admitted to being tasked with finding a hit squad to kill Trump.
Farhad Shakeri claimed he was instructed 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 obliteration if he were killed by state actors. “That would be a terrible thing for them to do,” he said. “Not because of me. 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, calling it a scheme designed to promote fear of Iran. He insisted there have been “none whatsoever” plots against the president.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei echoed this sentiment, labeling allegations as part of a “repulsive” plot by Israel.
Trump has consistently threatened to annihilate Iran entirely. He warned that if ceasefire negotiations fail and attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz continue, Iran will be “blown off the face of the earth.”
At NATO this week, Trump recounted the casualties from U.S. strikes in Iran and suggested he might also be “gone” if the conflict persists. “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.”
