On Tuesday, President Donald Trump revealed that he has given his advisers clear instructions to take severe action against Iran in the event of his assassination, warning that the country would be “obliterated.” The comments came during a press briefing while Trump was signing an executive order designed to intensify U.S. pressure on Tehran.
“If they did that, they would be obliterated,” Trump declared. “I’ve left instructions—if they do it, they get obliterated. There won’t be anything left.” Trump went on to take a jab at President Joe Biden, suggesting that the former president’s approach to such threats was weak. “I can’t imagine they do that. It should have been stated by Biden, but he didn’t state it because he had no clue,” Trump added.
While Trump’s statement was direct, the practical implications of his instructions would ultimately fall to Vice President JD Vance, who would assume the presidency if Trump were assassinated. It is unclear whether Vance would feel compelled to follow any directives left by his predecessor.
U.S. authorities have long been monitoring threats from Iran against Trump and other key figures in his administration. This included tracking a 2020 plot linked to the assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, leader of the Quds Force, a division of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which Trump authorized.
In the summer of 2020, heightened security measures were put in place for a campaign rally in Pennsylvania after an Iranian threat was identified, although U.S. officials at the time stated that Iran was not believed to be involved in a separate assassination attempt when Trump was injured by a gunshot during the event.
The U.S. Justice Department also revealed in November that it had foiled an Iranian plot to kill Trump prior to the presidential election. Federal authorities accused Iranian officials of directing Farhad Shakeri, 51, to surveil and eventually kill Trump. Shakeri, still believed to be in Iran, is suspected of being a government asset who had previously spent time in U.S. prisons.
Shakeri allegedly told the FBI that in September, he was assigned to kill Trump by a contact in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, which is responsible for overseeing Tehran’s covert military operations. According to court documents, he was given a week to put together a plan to surveil the former president and eventually carry out the attack.
Additionally, Trump recently revoked security protection for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, his former national security adviser John Bolton, and senior aide Brian Hook. All three have been the targets of threats from Iran after advocating hardline policies against the Islamic Republic during Trump’s first term in office.
Watch Trump’s remarks in the video below:
