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Edited by: Fern Sidman
President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum on Tuesday reimposing stringent measures against Iran, aiming to block the country from developing a nuclear weapon and restricting its ability to export oil. Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump reaffirmed the U.S. government’s commitment to applying maximum pressure on Tehran, a continuation of his hardline stance from his first term. As The Associated Press reported, Trump insisted that Iran must never acquire nuclear capabilities and defended Washington’s right to obstruct the sale of Iranian oil to foreign nations as part of its broader economic strategy against the regime.
Trump’s remarks also took on a sharply personal tone as he issued a stark warning regarding threats against his life. The AP report highlighted that Trump declared his advisers had standing orders to “obliterate” Iran if the regime were ever to succeed in assassinating him. “If they did that, they would be obliterated,” Trump said while signing the executive order, making it clear that any attack on his life would trigger overwhelming U.S. retaliation. “I’ve left instructions—if they do it, they get obliterated; there won’t be anything left,” he emphasized, signaling that his administration takes Iranian threats seriously.
Federal authorities have been closely monitoring threats from Iran against Trump and other former administration officials for years. According to the information provided in the AP report, the U.S. government has tracked multiple Iranian plots targeting Trump, particularly in retaliation for the 2020 drone strike that killed Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force. Soleimani’s death was a major blow to Iran’s regional military operations, and Tehran has since vowed revenge against those responsible.
Recent intelligence has further heightened concerns about Iranian attempts to harm Trump. The AP reported that U.S. officials increased security around Trump in the days leading up to a July campaign rally in Pennsylvania, where he was shot in the ear. However, authorities at the time stated they did not believe Iran was directly connected to that assassination attempt. Nonetheless, the incident underscored the ongoing risks faced by the former president.
In November, the U.S. Justice Department revealed details of a foiled Iranian plot to assassinate Trump before the upcoming presidential election. The AP report detailed that the Justice Department identified Farhad Shakeri, a 51-year-old operative living in Iran, as the primary suspect in the scheme. Shakeri, an accused Iranian government asset, was allegedly instructed in September to prioritize surveillance and preparation for an attack against Trump. The criminal complaint unsealed in federal court in Manhattan states that Shakeri, an Afghan national residing in Iran, was ordered by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard to drop all other assignments and develop an assassination plan within a week.
Shakeri maintained a network of criminal associates engaged in surveillance and murder-for-hire plots on behalf of Tehran. While he remains at large in Iran, the complaint against him has added another layer of tension to U.S.-Iran relations. As per the AP report, Iranian officials dismissed the allegations, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei calling the Justice Department’s findings a plot by “Israel-linked circles” to complicate diplomatic relations between Washington and Tehran.
In a separate but related decision, the AP reported that Trump recently revoked government security protection for three high-profile former officials: former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, his top aide Brian Hook, and former National Security Adviser John Bolton. All three had played key roles in the Trump administration’s maximum pressure campaign against Iran and had faced credible threats from Tehran. The decision to end their security protection raises questions about their continued vulnerability to Iranian retaliation.
As the AP report emphasized, Trump’s latest executive order signals a return to his aggressive posture toward Iran, despite some internal reservations about escalating tensions. While he expressed hope that he would not need to enforce the new sanctions extensively, the reimposed measures reaffirm his administration’s commitment to preventing Iranian nuclear ambitions and responding decisively to any perceived threats against U.S. leaders. The coming months will likely reveal whether Tehran responds with further provocations or seeks diplomatic alternatives to ease growing tensions
