Trump's Strong Reaction to News of Possible 'Death Threat' from the Islamic Republic Against Him

On Thursday, Donald Trump, the Republican candidate for the upcoming U.S. presidential election, reacted to news of a possible 'death threat' from the Islamic Republic against him in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social. He wrote, referring to the Islamic Republic of Iran: 'If they assassinate 'President Trump', which is always a possibility, I hope America destroys Iran, wipes it off the face of the earth. If this does not happen, American leaders will be considered cowardly 'timid'!' Trump made these remarks following a brief video broadcast by Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, in the U.S. Congress regarding the same news of a potential death threat against him. Netanyahu spoke in the U.S. Congress on Wednesday and referenced this 'possible plot' in his video. American media reported last week that the U.S. Secret Service had increased Donald Trump's security after officials became aware of 'Iran's plan to kill Trump' a few weeks ago, although this 'plot' was not related to a recent assassination attempt against him by a 20-year-old American. Reports have emerged about the disclosure of Iran's 'plan' to 'assassinate' Donald Trump. CNN reported that U.S. officials received information about 'Tehran's plan' to target the former president through a 'human source', which led to increased protection for Trump. Other American media outlets also reported on this plan. However, they stated that this plot was not related to the shooting in Pennsylvania, where Thomas Matthew Crooks, the armed individual, shot Trump and severely injured him, killing a participant at the rally. Relations between Washington and Tehran have long been strained and reached a low point with Tehran's efforts for revenge following the killing of Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, which was carried out in 2020 at Trump's order during his presidency. The U.S. National Security Council has stated that 'Iran's threats against former Trump administration officials have been monitored for years.' Trump's new social media message recalls one of his controversial statements in 2019 when, as president, he said that if Iran attacked 'anything American', he would 'destroy' Iran. These remarks came after Iranian officials announced at that time that the diplomatic path between the two countries was 'forever closed' following a new round of Trump's sanctions. He also threatened North Korea at that time with 'fire and fury the likes of which the world has never seen', although he later established cordial relations with Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader.