Trump made the remarks while responding to a reporter’s question about alleged threats from Iran’s leadership and ongoing unrest in the country.
United States President, Donald Trump, has issued a sweeping threat against Iran, warning that the country would face total destruction if any assassination attempt against him succeeds.
Trump made the remarks while responding to a reporter’s question about alleged threats from Iran’s leadership and ongoing unrest in the country.
“There are reports that they are still burning thousands of protesters alive. They also issued an assassination threat against you over the weekend,” the reporter said, asking how Trump viewed Iran’s continued taunts and threats, especially after he recently said it was time for new leadership in Iran.
Responding, Trump said, “Well, they shouldn’t be doing it, but I’ve left notification.”
He escalated his warning shortly after, declaring, “Anything ever happens, we’re going to blow; the whole country is going to get blown up.”
Trump also used the opportunity to criticise former President Joe Biden, accusing him of failing to respond firmly to threats.
“So we’ve, you know, originally Biden should have said something. You know, when they made a statement, we always said, why isn’t Biden saying anything? Because he didn’t,” Trump said.
Insisting that leaders must protect one another regardless of political differences, Trump added, “But a president has to defend a president. Like if I were here and they were making that threat to somebody, even not even a president, but somebody like they did with me, I would absolutely hit them so hard.”
Trump concluded by saying he had already issued clear directives on how such a situation should be handled.
“But I have very firm instructions,” he said. “Anything happens, they’re going to wipe them off the face of this earth.”
The comments are likely to further inflame tensions around the U.S.–Iran relations, coming amid heightened scrutiny of Iran’s internal repression and its posture toward Western leaders.
President Donald Trump had also called for regime change in Iran following protests that have rocked the country in recent weeks.
“It’s time to look for new leadership in Iran,” Trump told Politico in an interview.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding Trump’s remarks.
Trump’s comments come after Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, delivered a defiant address on Saturday in which he accused Trump of encouraging “agitators,” and said that Iran considers Trump “a criminal, both for the casualties, for the damages, and for the slander directed at the Iranian nation.”
He said key agitators had been detained, and the country’s semiofficial Fars news agency said protests had largely subsided.
Trump denounced Khamenei and Iran in his remarks to Politico, calling him “a sick man who should run his country properly and stop killing people.”