Trump: If Iran Kills Me, 'Bomb Them at Levels They've Never Seen'

President Donald Trump has been on Iran's hit list since at least 2020, when he ordered the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, a top Iranian military commander and source of support to terrorist groups. Now, after Operation Midnight Hammer removed much of Iran's nuclear capacity and Operation Epic Fury took out several layers of Iran's military and civil leadership, Iran has ratcheted up the threats.

At the recent funeral for the late and unlamented Supreme Leader, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, not only did Iranian officials repeat the threats, but banners were seen being held up for display in the streets of Tehran.

Trump tells The Post he's 'left instructions' should Iran succeed in assassinating him: 'Number 1' target https://t.co/EPjQubEJYx pic.twitter.com/hEEg8enWgW
— New York Post (@nypost) July 10, 2026

The threat may have caused President Trump to suddenly change travel plans when he left the NATO summit earlier this week, flying out on the present Air Force One instead of the new bridge aircraft that just entered service:

On Friday, President Trump revealed to the New York Post that he has left detailed instructions as to what is to be done to Iran should they succeed in killing him.

President Trump on Friday told The Post he has “left instructions” should Iran succeed in their plots to assassinate him — and there’ll be hell to pay.
“I’ve been on their list for a long time. That’s what we’re dealing with,” he said. “… The only thing is, I’ve left instructions — if anything happens, to just literally bomb them at levels that they’ve never seen before.”
Asked about recent reports that Israel this week flagged intel of a plot to take out the US president, Trump indicated there was no fresh plan from Iran — but said Tehran has wanted him dead for years.
“No, no. Israel came up with nothing. No, no,” 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.”
“I hope you’ll miss me,” he added.

All this comes on the heels of renewed American strikes on Iran after peace talks stalled.

While much of Iran's military capability has been destroyed and much of its leadership reduced to ambient temperature, this is still a threat the administration can't take lightly. Iran still has the capabilities of a nation-state, with not only equipment but trained operatives. It's not at all unreasonable to assume that a few of those trained operatives were infiltrated into the United States, especially during the four years of the Biden administration, ignoring border and immigration laws. And, remember, President Trump has already survived three such attempts, by amateurs, one of which came within a literal whisker of succeeding.

The president's instructions in the event Iran succeeds include bombing Iran "...at levels that they've never seen before," and that raises some interesting questions as to the choice of munitions. Would the assassination of an American president by a belligerent nation, a nation with whom we are engaged in a military conflict, rate a nuclear response? That would seem to fit the category of "levels they've never seen before." Of course, we have the capacity to reduce Tehran to rubble without tossing a hot rock at it.

It's a concerning scenario. It's something that has never happened in the history of our republic.

In the end, were Iran to succeed in the unspeakable, with instructions or without, it would fall to Vice President Vance to determine the response. Pre-written instructions or not, he would then be Commander-in-Chief, and the level of any response would be his decision to make.

Meanwhile, it's a safe bet that the Secret Service is keeping a pretty tight perimeter around the president.

Editor's Note: For decades, former presidents have been all talk and no action. Now, Donald Trump is eliminating the threat from Iran once and for all.

Help us report the truth about the Trump administration's decisive actions to keep Americans safe and bring peace to the world. Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership.