United States ruler Donald Trump said that he is Iran’s “number one target.” He made the comments after recent escalations in the war, saying that he could be gone because the US has assassinated so many high-profile Iranians in the political sphere.

US authorities have accused Iran of plotting to kill Trump as early as before the 2024 presidential election. At that time, the US claimed that a man named Farhad Shakeri – an Afghan national residing in Tehran – was tasked with “providing a plan” to kill not only the Republican but also other US and Israeli citizens, according to a report by RT. 

At the time, Iran rejected the accusations as “completely baseless” and dismissed them as “a malicious conspiracy orchestrated by Zionist and anti-Iranian circles, aimed at further complicating the issues between the US and Iran.”

If the U.S. attempts an assassination of Khamenei, Iran Will Declare War

Iran Has Confirmed The Death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Iran did previously threaten war if the US succeeded in assassinating Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The US killed Khamenei in joint strikes with Israel on February 28th, when both instigated the war.

At the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) summit in Ankara, Trump also alluded to the role the US had played in the targeted assassinations of the Iranian leadership. “They had leaders. They’re gone. And they had another set of leaders. They’re gone. Now they have another set of leaders. They may be gone,” he said.

The newest escalation of this occurred when the US military accused Tehran of “unwarranted aggression” after it attacked vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian media, while citing government sources, said that one of the struck tankers had ignored warnings, stressing that Iran should approve all passages.

Following the attacks, Trump branded the Iranian leadership “scum”, “sick,” and “cuckoo,” declared the ceasefire “over,” and called continued negotiations “a waste of time.”

Oil Prices Rise As US And Iran Return To War