On the day Iran buried its former Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, banners carrying threats and calls for the assassination of U.S. President Donald Trump appeared during the funeral procession.
Trump, however, downplayed both the slogans and intelligence reports suggesting that figures within the Islamic Republic genuinely seek to eliminate him.
In an interview with the New York Post, Trump said the threats from Iran were nothing new.
“Israel didn’t bring anything new. I’ve been Iran’s number one target for a long time,” the U.S. president said.
Recent reports of renewed threats against Trump have nevertheless heightened concerns in Washington. Israeli intelligence has reportedly shared information with the U.S. administration indicating that hardline figures in Iran continue to advocate targeting the American president.
According to an Israeli source and a U.S. official familiar with the matter, the intelligence shared by Israel does not describe a specific or operational assassination plot. Instead, it reflects the desire of certain elements within Iran’s leadership to make Trump the target of an attack.
Sources claim that Ahmad Vahidi, the newly appointed commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was among those supporting such an approach. The U.S. administration reportedly views Vahidi as one of the officials obstructing negotiations with Tehran and has considered targeting him and other senior hardline figures if a full-scale conflict were to resume.
However, two U.S. sources familiar with the intelligence assessments emphasized that the latest reviews have uncovered no new operational plot against the American president. According to them, the reports amount to a “constant stream” of communications and rhetoric from Iranian actors expressing a desire to kill Trump, rather than evidence of an imminent assassination plan.
During funeral ceremonies for Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was reportedly killed in Israeli strikes at the start of the conflict on February 28, many mourners carried banners calling for Trump’s assassination.
At the same time, Trump responded with a strong message on his social media platform, Truth Social, warning Iran of severe consequences if any assassination attempt were made against him.
His statement came after U.S. officials reportedly urged Tehran to publicly guarantee that the Strait of Hormuz would remain open to international shipping, while Iran insisted the strategic waterway should remain under its control.
“One thousand missiles are ready and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands more to follow immediately if the Iranian government acts on its threat to kill me or attempts to kill me,” Trump wrote.
He added that the U.S. military would “completely destroy and wipe out all areas of Iran,” ending his post with the phrase, “Praise be to ALLAH!”—a wording that has previously drawn attention for its use of religious references.
The alleged assassination threats have also been addressed by Tracy Walder, a former CIA and FBI special agent, who said they were not unexpected.
“Honestly, I’m not surprised at all. We know for a fact that similar plots have been disrupted before. Individuals have been prosecuted for attempting to carry them out here in the United States,” Walder told NewsNation.
According to Walder, the release of Israeli intelligence may also have had a political dimension.
“The relationship between Trump and Netanyahu isn’t as strong as it was at the beginning of the war. Part of me wonders whether this was an opportunity for Netanyahu to bring Trump back closer to his side and inner circle, given everything happening around the Strait of Hormuz,” she said.
Walder also recalled that Trump has faced multiple serious threats throughout the 2024 presidential campaign and during his second term. Just last June, the FBI announced it had foiled an alleged plot to assassinate the president and other senior officials during the “UFC Freedom 250” event at the White House. FBI Director Kash Patel said a multi-state operation led to several arrests before the planned attacks could be carried out.
Trump also spoke about the risks to his life during the NATO summit in Ankara.
“I’m Iran’s number one assassination target,” he said. “I’m their number one target because they’re scum.”
Security concerns were further fueled after Trump returned from the summit aboard the older Air Force One aircraft instead of the new jet donated by Qatar. The White House said the change was made at the request of the Secret Service as an additional security precaution, while analysts questioned whether the new aircraft had been fully equipped with the necessary defensive systems.
