President Donald Trump revealed Friday he’s left specific military instructions if Iran succeeds in carrying out its long-running threats against him.
“I’ve left instructions — if anything happens, to just literally bomb them at levels that they’ve never seen before,” Trump told the New York Post.
“I’ve been on their list for a long time. That’s what we’re dealing with. The only thing is, I’ve left instructions — if anything happens, to just literally bomb them at levels that they’ve never seen before.”
The president made similar remarks Wednesday while discussing the threats.
“They want to take out the U.S. leader — me. I’m on whatever list. I saw this morning I’m on every single one of their lists,” Trump said. “And, so far, I guess I’ve been a bit lucky, but maybe that doesn’t last very long. These are evil, sick people. And we have to root out that cancer. That cancer. You know what you do? You’ve got to cut out cancer early.”
Trump’s comments come after Iranian regime supporters displayed open threats against him at state-organized funeral ceremonies for former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei this week.
A massive banner reading “We Will Kill Trump” was carried through crowds escorting Khamenei’s body to its final resting place at the Shrine of Imam Reza in Mashhad on Thursday.
Photos of the threats went viral across social media — posters depicting Trump with crosshairs over his face alongside the warning “There Will Be Blood,” giant banners promising rewards of up to $120 million for his assassination, and a black wall emblazoned with the hashtag “#WeWillKillTrump.”
Iranian poet Mohammad Rasouli, serving as the official master of ceremonies on July 5, asked the crowd over loudspeakers: “Why is the most bastard man in the world still alive? … Why should we not kill the man who killed our imam? It would be a disgrace if we did not.”
Rasouli then led attendees in a chant declaring, “Trump’s murder is our responsibility.”
Last month, members of Iran’s Assembly of Experts — the powerful clerical body that chose Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran’s new supreme leader following his father’s passing — appeared to endorse targeting President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, declaring that anyone who gains access to the two leaders is obligated to “send them to hell.”
“That would be a terrible thing for them to do. Not because of me, because if they did that, they would be obliterated. That would be the end. I’ve left instructions — if they do it, they get obliterated. There won’t be anything left.”
Trump also mentioned his contingency plan in February 2025 — before the last two conflicts with Iran — while signing an executive order restoring maximum pressure sanctions on the regime.
Iranian regime supporters have openly vowed revenge against Trump since the 2020 U.S. strike that eliminated Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Qasem Soleimani.
In November 2024, the Justice Department unsealed charges against Farhad Shakeri, an alleged asset of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps accused of participating in a plot against then-candidate Trump. According to court documents, Iranian officials directed Shakeri to develop a plan and indicated that “money’s not an issue” when discussing the operation.
The alleged architect of the plot, Rahman Mokadam, head of the IRGC’s Special Operations Division, was reportedly eliminated during Operation Epic Fury in March.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the operation initially focused on Iranian missile capabilities, but individuals tied to threats against the United States were eventually added to the target list.
“We’ve known for a long time that Iran had intentions to target President Trump, while that wasn’t the focus of the effort by any stretch of the imagination, never was raised by the president or anybody else,” Hegseth said. “I ensured, and others ensured that they were eventually part of the target list.”
The threats come amid escalating hostilities between Washington and Tehran. This week, the United States and Iran exchanged attacks across the region, with American forces striking more than 100 Iranian-linked targets and Tehran launching attacks against U.S. military installations and commercial shipping.
On Wednesday, Trump declared the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding effectively over after Iranian attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
“They’re scum. They’re sick people,” Trump said when asked whether the agreement could be salvaged. “These people, they lie, and they cheat.”
However, on Friday, Trump announced that Iran had requested to continue negotiations.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has asked us to continue ‘talks.’ We have agreed to do so, but the United States has stated to them, in no uncertain terms, that the Cease Fire is OVER!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
