Amid rising hostilities between the United States and Iran, President Donald Trump has declared that he has directed his advisers to "obliterate" Iran if they assassinate him.
In a stark response to ongoing threats, President Trump has issued a directive to retaliate massively against Iran if he is assassinated according to Newsmax.
Speaking during the signing of an executive order introducing new sanctions against Iran, Trump voiced this stringent warning.
He aims to intensify the "maximum pressure" approach on Tehran, leveraging economic and political sanctions to curb Iran's aggressive actions.
The backdrop to this dramatic escalation includes years of confrontation, notably marked by Trump's 2020 order of a drone strike that killed Qassem Soleimani. Soleimani was a top commander of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force, and his killing significantly heightened U.S.-Iran tensions.
Further complicating matters, Trump was recently targeted in an assassination attempt during a Pennsylvania campaign rally in July, where he narrowly escaped harm.
Federal authorities have kept a vigilant eye on Iranian threats directed at both the former President and other U.S. administration officials for some time now.
Although the July incident did not bear direct Iranian fingerprints, the specter of Iranian involvement looms large over Trump due to the previous engagements and ongoing hostilities between the countries.
In November, the Justice Department disclosed an Iranian plan to assassinate Trump before the presidential election, revealing the heightened risks he faces.
The plan, allegedly set up by Iranian officials, tasked Farhad Shakeri, a former American prisoner now residing in Iran, with the surveillance and planning necessary to execute the assassination.
Shakeri, an Afghan national living in Iran, has since remained at large. His purported involvement underscores the reach and influence of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, demonstrating their capacity to plan operations significantly far from home.
As an informant, Shakeri disclosed critical details to the FBI about the instructions he received from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, pinpointing how the plans were structured and who in the hierarchy was involved.
Iranian officials have stoutly denied the allegations, suggesting that these were fabrications by pro-Israel groups aiming to incite further hostility.
Esmail Baghaei, an Iranian foreign ministry spokesman, described the accusations as "a plot by Israel-linked circles to make Iran-U.S. relations more complicated."
During Trump's presidency, notable figures such as Mike Pompeo, Brian Hook, and John Bolton—known for their stringent positions against Iran—also experienced varied levels of threats.
Interestingly, these former high-ranking officials had their U.S. government security protections removed by Trump himself, adding further complexity to the narrative of U.S.-Iran relations.
The international community has watched these developments closely, with many expressing concern over the potential for escalation into broader conflict.
Trump's public declarations leave little room for ambiguity about his stance on how the U.S. should react to any direct threats from Iran. “If they did that they would be obliterated,” he said during the event. His comments underscore a commitment to enforcing his directives rigorously, emphasizing that "there won’t be anything left."