President Donald Trump revealed in a New York Post interview published July 11 that he has left standing orders for a massive retaliatory strike against Iran in the event he is assassinated — a disclosure that arrives as the U.S.-Iran war enters its fifth month and a fragile peace effort appears to have collapsed.
Trump, 80, told the Post that he has long been aware of Iranian targeting of his person, and that his response to any successful attack has already been spelled out for those who would succeed him. Trump said, “I’ve been on their list for a long time. That’s what we’re dealing with.” He went on to describe the retaliatory directive he has put in place, saying he has left instructions — “if anything happens, to just literally bomb them at levels that they’ve never seen before.”
A Standing Order Since Early 2025
The president’s remarks are not entirely new territory. Shortly after taking office for a second time on January 20, 2025, Trump told reporters gathered in the Oval Office that Iran would face total destruction if it moved against him, vowing that the country “would be obliterated” and confirming even then that instructions had been left behind. What remains unclear is whether the specific details of those directives have been updated since open hostilities with Iran began. The White House did not respond to a request for comment on that question. The latest comments echoed remarks Trump made at a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, where he again raised the specter of Iranian threats against his life. The Ankara visit itself turned dramatic when Israeli intelligence reportedly informed U.S. officials of a specific Iranian plot to kill Trump while he was on Turkish soil. Trump later said the flight remained “dangerous” due to what he described as the people pursuing him.
Threats Rooted in the Soleimani Strike
Iranian threats against Trump date back to 2020 or earlier, following a U.S. drone strike that killed Gen. Qasem Soleimani, among the country’s highest-ranking military commanders. That killing set off a cycle of threats and counter-threats that has never fully subsided. Trump has repeatedly claimed he holds the top spot on Iran’s enemies list, a point he has made publicly on multiple occasions both before and since the current conflict began.
The stakes escalated sharply on Feb. 28 when former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in joint Israeli and U.S. airstrikes. Images of Iranian mourners carrying banners threatening Trump circulated widely in the days that followed, underscoring just how personal the conflict has become on both sides.
Peace Talks Falter as Hostilities Resume
Trump declared a tenuous peace agreement “over” after fighting began again, and he has spoken forcefully about the failed negotiations. In early April, he warned on social media that an entire civilization would be wiped out that night unless a deal was reached — language that set off alarm in diplomatic circles and among allies watching the standoff unfold.
Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, were assigned as chief negotiators for the deal but have faced growing criticism for failing to achieve a breakthrough. Fox News host Brian Kilmeade was pointed in his assessment, saying the two “have not been effective in Ukraine, not been effective in Gaza” and adding that no negotiator should be juggling three separate diplomatic portfolios simultaneously. Trump himself acknowledged the frustration, characterizing further negotiations with Iran as a waste of time, though he left open the possibility that Witkoff and Kushner could press on.
Dramatic Language, Uncertain Details
Trump’s threat to order bombardment “at levels that they’ve never seen before” fits a pattern of maximalist rhetoric he has deployed throughout the conflict. Whether those instructions represent a formal national security directive or a personal expression of intent is not clear from the public record. Because the White House did not address the question of whether the directives have been revised since the war began, it is unknown whether the standing order reflects the current military and diplomatic situation or an earlier iteration drafted in a different context.
What is not in dispute is the seriousness with which the threat environment is being treated. The hasty departure from Turkey, the Israeli intelligence warning, and Trump’s own public acknowledgment that he has been on Iran’s target list for years all point to a threat assessment that U.S. security officials are treating as credible. For a president who has never been shy about describing what he would do to his enemies, the instructions he says he has left behind may be the most consequential words he has spoken — ones he is hoping no one ever has to act on.
