Trump says he's given advisers instructions for Iran to be 'obliterated' if it assassinates him

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he’s given his advisers instructions to obliterate Iran if it assassinates him.

“If they did that they would be obliterated,” Trump said in an exchange with reporters while signing an executive order calling for the U.S. government to impose maximum pressure on Tehran. “I’ve left instructions if they do it, they get obliterated, there won’t be anything left.”

The Justice Department announced in federal charges in November that an Iranian plot to kill Trump before the presidential election had been thwarted..

The department alleged Iranian officials had instructed Farhad Shakeri, 51, in September to focus on surveilling and ultimately assassinating Trump. Shakeri is still at large in Iran.