Iran has issued a stark assassination threat against former US President Donald Trump, escalating tensions between Tehran and Washington at a time of deep internal unrest in the Islamic Republic. The warning was aired on Iranian state-run television on Wednesday, where clips from Trump’s 2024 campaign rally shooting in Pennsylvania were shown alongside a chilling message: “This time the bullet will not miss the target,” according to AFP.
The broadcast referenced the July 13, 2024 incident in Butler, Pennsylvania, when a gunman fired at Trump during a rally, grazing his ear. Trump survived the attack and later appeared bloodied but defiant, raising his fist as he was escorted off the stage. The Iranian message appeared to directly allude to that attempt, sending shockwaves through diplomatic and security circles.
The threat comes against the backdrop of massive protests sweeping Iran since late December. The demonstrations, sparked by anger over political repression and economic hardship, are described as the largest since the Islamic Republic was established in 1979. Rights groups claim that at least 3,428 people have been killed in the government’s crackdown so far, allegations Tehran has denied.
Trump has repeatedly warned that the United States could intervene militarily if Iran continues its violent response to protesters or carries out executions of those arrested. Earlier this week, Trump said he had received information from “very important sources” suggesting that killings were slowing and that executions were not currently planned.
This is not the first time Iran has threatened Trump. In 2021, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s office shared an image vowing revenge for the 2020 US drone strike that killed General Qasem Soleimani. In 2022, US authorities charged an Iranian Revolutionary Guard member with plotting to assassinate Trump’s former National Security Advisor John Bolton.
Trump has previously said that if Iran succeeds in killing him, the US response would be devastating, warning that Tehran would be “obliterated.”
