Donald Trump has disclosed that he has “left instructions” for the US military to bomb Iran at unprecedented levels if he is assassinated, as tensions between Washington and Tehran escalate over the Strait of Hormuz. “I’ve been on their list for a long time,” the US president told the New York Post. “I’ve left instructions — if anything happens, to just literally bomb them at levels that they’ve never seen before.”
The revelation comes after Israel shared intelligence with the US about a new Iranian plot to kill Trump, as reported by The Wall Street Journal and CNN. Trump denied those reports but conceded he has been a target of Iran “for a long time”. “I hope you’ll miss me,” he grimly said.
“Trump says he has left instructions to bomb Iran if killed, as US-Iran ceasefire collapses and negotiations resume.”
The US military struck Iranian islands, ports and infrastructure for two consecutive nights this week after reporting that Iran had struck three ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump agreed to return to negotiations with Iran but insisted the US-Iran ceasefire was “over”. Earlier in the week, he had branded the Tehran regime “scum” and said dealing with it was “a waste of time”.
Qatari negotiators travelled to Iran in a desperate effort to restart talks after disputes over navigation in the strait led to the collapse of diplomacy. Iranian officials privately told advisers to Donald Trump that attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz was a mistake, senior US officials told CBS News. The attacks were linked to an “errant” sect of hardliners trying to undermine negotiations, the officials said, adding that Tehran wants to keep talks going.
The US has demanded Iran tell the public that the Strait of Hormuz is open and stop attacking ships attempting to pass through the vital oil waterway, the Associated Press reported. But Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, warned that his country is “ready for an all-out defense”. “We have never stopped preparing to defend our country. The moment the Americans betray the understanding, we will be ready for an all-out defense,” Ghalibaf said, referring to the 14-point Memorandum of Understanding signed last month that temporarily stopped fighting.
Meanwhile, an Israeli strike killed one person in southern Lebanon on Friday, CBS News reported. “A young man from the city of Nabatieh was martyred in a raid by an enemy drone that targeted him this afternoon, when he was riding a motorcycle,” the National News Agency said. At least one other person was injured in more strikes.
With Trump’s assassination instructions revealing the depth of distrust, and Iran warning of all-out defence, the fragile understanding between the two nations appears increasingly precarious.
