President Donald Trump revealed he has issued standing orders for a massive military response against Iran should the country succeed in assassinating him, according to an interview published by the New York Post on Friday.
“I’ve been on their list for a long time. That’s what we’re dealing with,” the 80-year-old president said, referring to Iranian threats against his life. “The only thing is, I’ve left instructions if anything happens, to just literally bomb them at levels that they’ve never seen before.”
Trump dismissed recent reports suggesting Israel had uncovered an assassination plot against him. “Israel came up with nothing,” he said. “I’ve been No. 1 [on Iran’s kill list] for a long time, and it’s the way life is, you know.”
In a characteristically defiant tone, Trump added: “I hope you’ll miss me.”
Iranian Threats Following Soleimani Strike
According to the New York Post, Iran has openly sought the president’s assassination since 2020, when Trump authorized the drone strike that killed Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani. The killing of the prominent Revolutionary Guard general marked a dramatic escalation in tensions between Washington and Tehran.
Trump’s acknowledgment of standing retaliation orders represents an unusually explicit statement about contingency military planning, though the president offered no details about what specific forces or operations such instructions might involve.
Multiple Assassination Attempts
The president has survived several attempts on his life in recent years. In July 2024, while speaking at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Trump’s ear was struck by a bullet when a 20-year-old assailant opened fire. The FBI confirmed in a statement that “what struck former President Trump in the ear was a bullet, whether whole or fragmented into smaller pieces, fired from the deceased subject’s rifle.”
Two months later, in September 2024, Ryan Wesley Routh attempted to assassinate Trump at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. Routh was found guilty in September 2025, according to the FBI.
Most recently, in April, a man identified as Cole Tomas Allen allegedly attempted to kill Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Allen has been charged with one count of attempting to assassinate the president, transportation of a firearm and ammunition in interstate commerce with intent to commit a felony, and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence, the FBI reported.
The president’s comments underscore the ongoing security challenges facing his administration and the persistent tensions with Iran that have shaped U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East for years.
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