U.S. President Donald Trump has disclosed having issued prior guidelines on how to respond in the event of an assassination attempt attributed to Iran, emphasizing that the retaliation would be “unprecedented.”
In a statement to the “Washington Post,” Trump remarked, “I've been at the top of their list for a long time... I've left instructions that if anything happens to me, they will be attacked at levels they have never seen before.”
The American president clarified that he does not believe there is a new Iranian plot against him, yet reiterated that Tehran has considered him a target for years, adding, “I've topped Iran's assassination list for quite some time, and that's just life.”
His comments follow media reports alleging that Israel conveyed intelligence to Washington regarding potential threats against the U.S. president. Other reports suggested that his departure from the NATO summit in Turkey on an older presidential aircraft was for security reasons.
The United States accuses Iran of seeking retaliation since the killing of Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani in 2020. Tehran continually denies any allegations of plotting to assassinate U.S. officials, asserting its rejection of such claims.