Trump: 1,000 missiles aimed at Iran as US military receives orders to 'obliterate' country over assassination threats
The US president said 1,000 missiles are loaded and ready, with thousands more to follow, after reports Iran was planning to kill him. Washington had earlier switched his return plane from a NATO summit in Turkey to a safer one.
President Donald Trump announced on Friday that 1,000 missiles are already targeted and loaded, aimed at Iran, with orders issued for the US military to be ready to "decimate and destroy all areas" of the country. The threat, posted on his Truth Social platform, came after reports that Iran was planning to assassinate him and that the White House had switched his return flight from a NATO summit in Ankara to a more secure aircraft.
The threat on Truth Social
Trump wrote that the missiles were already targeted and ready, and that thousands more would be fired if Tehran acted on threats "expressed in many quarters of the world" to kill him. He declared the US military ready for one year, with the option of extension, to carry out the operation. The statement ended with the exclamation "GLORY TO ALLAH!"
1,000 rockets have been targeted and loaded, aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, and thousands more will be fired immediately if the Iranian government acts on the threat, expressed in many quarters of the world, to assassinate the sitting president of the United States of America, in this case ME!
Orders have already been issued, and the US military is ready, willing and able, for a period of one year, with the possibility of extension, to entirely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran—GLORY TO ALLAH!
Assassination reports and the plane switch
The background is a series of reports about an Iranian assassination plot. At the NATO summit in Ankara on Wednesday, Trump claimed he was at the top of a "new list" of individuals Iran aims to kill. According to the Wall Street Journal, a warning (though not considered highly credible) prompted the White House to have Trump fly back from the summit aboard the older Air Force One rather than the newer aircraft recently gifted by Qatar. The newer aircraft lacks the protective and anti-missile systems of the older model, the Journal reported. The return journey included a stop at RAF Mildenhall in the United Kingdom, where the presidential plane was changed.
Trump rejected speculation that Israel had provided the warning, telling the New York Post that "Israel did not come up with anything." He added, in a lighter tone, "I've been number one for a long time, that's life. I hope you're going to miss me."
- Trump says Iran placed him on a 'new list' of assassination targets during NATO summit in Ankara.
- White House switches Trump's return flight to older Air Force One, stopping at RAF Mildenhall, UK, per WSJ report over assassination concerns.
- Trump denies Israel provided warning, tells NY Post he left orders to bomb Iran 'at a level never seen before' if anything happens to him.
- Trump posts on Truth Social that 1,000 missiles are aimed at Iran, threatens 'total decimation and destruction' of all Iranian areas.
Military instructions and the threat of force
In the same Friday interview with the New York Post, Trump disclosed that he had left orders with the US armed forces to respond with overwhelming force if he were harmed. He stated that the orders were to "literally bomb them on a level not seen ever before."
I left instructions that if anything happens, to literally bomb them on a level not seen ever before.
A history of threats
Iran has targeted Trump before. The 2020 US drone strike that killed Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani triggered a prolonged Iranian campaign of threats against the then-outgoing president. US intelligence subsequently detected and foiled plots against former national security adviser John Bolton and former secretary of state Mike Pompeo.
