President Donald Trump has reportedly briefed his advisors on potential actions to take if he were to be assassinated by Iran during his second term.
After taking office as the 47th President of the United States on January 20, Trump, at the age of 78, has stirred controversy with various actions, including halting federal aid, initiating a missile defense shield, and withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement.
On Tuesday, February 4, Trump disclosed that plans are in place to ‘obliterate’ Iran should they choose to assassinate him.
The Justice Department previously claimed it had intercepted an Iranian plot to assassinate Trump in November 2024.
The Associated Press reported that investigators learned of a plot to kill the former businessman by Farhad Shakeri, 51, who, as per Sky News, remains at large in Iran.
According to a criminal complaint unsealed in federal court in Manhattan, Shakeri was instructed by a contact in Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard to abandon previous plans and execute the assassination within seven days.
Shakeri allegedly informed the FBI that devising a plan within the seven-day period was infeasible, as stated in the complaint, leading to a pause in the plan until after the election.
Esmail Baghaei, a spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry, dismissed the alleged plot as ‘totally unfounded,’ adding that such accusations could further complicate US-Iran relations (via the BBC).
Trump has now made it known what directives he has given his advisors in case of an assassination attempt by Iranian agents.
This week, Trump intensified his ‘maximum pressure’ strategy on Iran by signing a presidential memorandum, asserting that Tehran was ‘too close’ to developing a nuclear weapon.
In the memo, Trump stated: “With me, it’s very simple: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.”
He expressed an openness to dialogue with Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian, aiming to avoid a ‘very catastrophic situation,’ according to Iran International.
Speaking to reporters, Trump remarked that if Iran were to assassinate him, it ‘would be obliterated.’
“That would be a terrible thing for them to do, not because of me. If they did that they would be obliterated. That would be the end.” he said. “I’ve left instructions if they do it, they get obliterated, there won’t be anything left, and they shouldn’t be able to do it.”
Trump further criticized his predecessor, the 46th president Joe Biden, suggesting Biden ‘should have said’ similar things.
“But he never did. I don’t know why. Lack of intelligence perhaps?,” he alleged. “If that happens to a leader or close to a reader frankly if you had other people involved also, you would call for total obliteration of the state that did it.”
Trump emphasized that his remarks encompassed Iran, adding that while the memo he signed was ‘very powerful,’ he hoped it would never be necessary.
In the event of Trump’s assassination, Vice President JD Vance would assume the presidency, but as reported by the Associated Press, he would not be obligated to follow any instructions left by Trump.