On Thursday, American presidential candidate Donald Trump discussed the elimination of Iran, a U.S. adversary, in a post on a social media platform, reviving the fiery rhetoric he used during his presidential term. Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social: "If they assassinate President Trump, which is always a possibility, I hope the United States will erase Iran, wipe it off the face of the Earth. If that doesn't happen, U.S. leaders will be seen as cowards and lacking courage!"
Trump's remark was accompanied by a video recording of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussing a plot purportedly targeting Trump, which is claimed to be Iranian, before the U.S. Congress on Wednesday.
Last week, U.S. media reported that the Secret Service had strengthened Trump's protective measures in recent weeks after discovering "threats" linked to an Iranian plan to assassinate the former president, clarifying that this plan was unrelated to the assassination attempt that the Republican candidate faced.
CNN reported that U.S. authorities received information regarding a plot from Tehran targeting the former president, prompting the enhancement of Trump's security. Other media outlets also covered the plan.
Relations between Washington and Tehran have been tense and are on the brink of explosion as Iran seeks revenge for the killing of Revolutionary Guard commander Qassem Soleimani in 2020, ordered by Trump during his presidency. The U.S. National Security Council stated that it has been monitoring Iranian threats against former officials in the Trump administration for years.
Trump's post recalled a controversial incident from 2019 when he threatened to "obliterate" Iran if it carried out an attack on "any American targets." This came after Iranian officials stated that the path to diplomacy between the two countries was permanently closed following a new set of sanctions imposed by Trump. During his presidency, Trump also threatened North Korea with "fire and fury the likes of which the world has never seen," although he later forged friendly ties with its leader, Kim Jong Un.
