President Donald Trump knows that the Iranian regime, at least as it existed prior to the current conflict, put a target on his back after he ordered the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps assassinated in January 2020.
A drone strike killed then-IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani shortly after he landed at an airport in Baghdad, Iraq. Iran immediately vowed harsh revenge, sparking a long-running threat.
During the current conflict, which was launched jointly with Israel to destroy Iran’s capability to threaten half the world over its still-existent nuclear weapons program, the vast majority of Iran’s leadership has been wiped out.
And at this point, it’s not clear who is actually in charge: A civilian element, or survivors of the IRGC chain of command.
At any rate, Iran is still a nation state, and many of its senior leaders still have the Soleimani grudge against the U.S. president.
Trump appeared to bring that up during remarks at a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, this week, acknowledging the threat while also revealing his orders to Vice President JD Vance should Iran be successful in Trump out.
“Everything’s gone. Their leaders are gone. Now they have another set of leaders – they may be gone, who knows,” Trump said.
“And you know what? I may be gone too, because I’m their number one target,” Trump continued, before revealing what he has instructed his successor to do.
“The only thing is, I’ve left instructions — if anything happens, to just literally bomb them at levels that they’ve never seen before,” Trump told the New York Post.
Trump then responded to reports that Israeli intelligence had identified a new plot to take the U.S. president out.
“No, no. Israel came up with nothing. No, no,” he responded. “I’ve been No. 1 [on Iran’s kill list] for a long time, and it’s the way life is, you know.”
“I hope you’ll miss me,” he added.
Trump has given Iran many chances to comply with a negotiated cease-fire after months of bombing the Middle Eastern country over its continued nuclear weapons development.
But the mullahs and the military factions still running the country didn’t take those opportunities, and now they are facing the consequences.
Trump said at the NATO conference the ceasefire between the United States and Iran has ended following a new round of military strikes after Iran attacked commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz again.
The remarks came after the United States launched what officials described as its largest series of strikes against Iranian targets since the two countries agreed to a memorandum of understanding last month.
U.S. Central Command carried out the strikes in response to Iran’s attacks on ships transiting the strategic waterway.
According to reports from multiple maritime agencies, Iranian forces struck at least three commercial vessels, including a Saudi-flagged crude oil tanker, while other ships sustained damage from projectiles.
American forces struck more than 80 Iranian military targets, including air defense systems, radar installations, missile-related facilities and vessels operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Bandar Abbas, Bushehr and other locations across southern Iran.
Iran responded by launching missiles and drones at U.S. military installations in Bahrain and Kuwait, further escalating tensions between the two countries, but to little effect.
Since then, the U.S. military has struck dozens more Iranian targets.
Speaking with reporters in Ankara, Trump addressed the latest military strikes and said he no longer intended to negotiate with the Iranian government, accusing Tehran of negotiating in bad faith throughout the diplomatic process.
“For me? I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them anymore. They’re scum,” Trump said. He added that Iranian leaders are “liars, they’re cheats. They’re sick people.”
Trump further described the situation as “a waste of time” and added, “As far as I’m concerned, it’s over.”
