Donald Trump has revealed the dramatic instructions he says should be followed if he is assassinated, warning that Iran would face retaliation on a scale it had never experienced before.
The US President, 80, addressed the threat to his life during a new interview, saying Tehran had allegedly considered him a target for several years.
"I've been on their list for a long time. That's what we're dealing with," he told the New York Post.
© Getty Images for Theodore RoosevThe President then disclosed the orders he claimed to have put in place in case an assassination attempt proved successful.
"I've left instructions – if anything happens, to just literally bomb them at levels that they've never seen before," he said.
The President was responding to reports that Israel had recently shared intelligence with the United States concerning a possible Iranian attempt on his life. However, he dismissed the suggestion that the information revealed a new or imminent plot, insisting Iran's hostility towards him was longstanding.
© AFP via Getty ImagesIran has repeatedly threatened retaliation over the January 2020 US drone strike that killed senior military commander Qasem Soleimani, an operation Donald Trump authorised during his first presidential term.
His comments also follow questions about an unexpected aircraft change during his journey home from this week's NATO summit in Ankara.
Trump departed Turkey aboard the older presidential aircraft rather than the newly refurbished Boeing 747 donated by Qatar, before later transferring to the new plane at a US airbase in Britain.
© Getty ImagesThe President publicly said the newer aircraft had travelled ahead so American service members could tour it. However, separate reporting suggested officials had raised concerns about whether the hurriedly converted jet possessed all the defensive capabilities required during a heightened security threat.
The President's revelation comes as relations between Washington and Tehran deteriorate further. Although he announced on Friday that the two countries had agreed to continue negotiations, he declared that their previous ceasefire was over following renewed hostilities.
© AFP via Getty ImagesSeparately, eight men have been federally indicted over an alleged plot to attack the UFC Freedom 250 event held on the White House grounds on June 14, 2026.
Prosecutors claim the group planned to use explosive-equipped drones to trigger an evacuation before snipers opened fire on fleeing guests. The alleged targets included President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Elon Musk and other senior figures.
The eight defendants face charges of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists and conspiring to commit murder. The Justice Department has not alleged that the purported White House plot was connected to Iran, and the charges remain allegations that must be proven in court.
