Donald Trump has disclosed the orders he says are already in place for the US military if Iran were ever to succeed in assassinating him, a statement that has quickly drawn widespread attention as tensions between Washington and Tehran intensify.
The comments come against the backdrop of a months-long confrontation between the US and Iran that has included direct strikes, retaliatory attacks, and repeated warnings from Trump that Iran remains one of the biggest threats to his personal safety.
Trump has said in recent weeks that he is the “No. 1 target” for Tehran, and the White House has treated the threat seriously amid ongoing regional fighting and heightened security concerns surrounding the president. Separately, a federal jury in March convicted Asif Merchant on murder-for-hire and terrorism charges in connection with an alleged Iranian-linked plot to kill Trump during the 2024 election season.
His comments came as he declared the already unstable ceasefire arrangement between the United States and Iran to be finished.
That announcement followed a major overnight escalation in the region, with US forces carrying out large-scale retaliatory strikes on around 90 locations along Iran’s southern coastline after renewed attacks on commercial vessels moving through the Strait of Hormuz.
Even amid the military fallout, much of the reaction online has centered on Trump’s remarks about the contingency plan tied to threats against his life.
Discussing what he described as serious assassination threats from Tehran, Trump said he has already told senior military officials how to respond if such a plot were ever carried out.
“They shouldn’t be doing it, but I’ve left notification,” Trump warned during a fiery interview with the New York Post. ”Anything ever happens, we’re going to blow the whole—the whole country is going to get blown up.”
He indicated that he had moved beyond the normal pace of diplomatic or military deliberation, making clear that the response he envisions would be immediate and overwhelming.
“I have very firm instructions—anything happens, they’re going to wipe them off the face of this earth,” Trump added, vowing that under his secret directives, the US response would ensure ‘there won’t be anything left.’
The remarks underline how sharply relations with Iran have deteriorated. Trump has also dismissed future negotiations as a “waste of time” and described Iran’s leadership as “liars” and “cheats”, according to Fox News.
Trump has recently paired those warnings with a broader argument that Washington’s campaign against Tehran is aimed at preventing Iran from rebuilding its military and nuclear capabilities. In late February, he ordered US strikes on Iran after months of brinkmanship over the country’s program, and US officials have said more recent operations were designed to reduce Iran’s ability to threaten shipping and regional stability.
Conditions on the ground remain highly dangerous. While Trump has framed his warning as a deterrent meant to avoid a wider conflict, Iran’s Health Ministry says the first wave of US strikes left 14 people dead and 78 injured.
The latest round of hostilities came only days after US forces said they had struck about 90 Iranian targets, in what US Central Command described as an effort to reduce Iran’s capacity “to threaten freedom of navigation” in the Strait of Hormuz.
American officials said the operation hit more than 60 small boats belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard. Iranian state media also reported blasts in Bushehr, where the country’s nuclear power infrastructure is based, along with incidents in Chabahar, Konarak, Bandar Abbas and Sirik.
Reports also said a railway bridge in Golestan province was hit, while Iran’s Revolutionary Guard stated that two bridges had been struck.
With US naval assets under stricter combat instructions and Trump publicly outlining what he says are last-resort military orders, analysts warn the standoff has moved into an even more unpredictable and dangerous phase.