Iran's been threatening Trump for years over killing their general.
Wednesday they turned those threats into something far more sinister.
And Iran just crossed the line with this assassination threat against Trump.
Iran State TV Uses Butler Pennsylvania Assassination Attempt Image in Direct Threat
Wednesday's broadcast on Iranian state TV featured Trump's bloodied face from the July 2024 Butler shooting paired with a chilling message: "This time it will not miss the target."
The threat appeared during pro-government rallies in Tehran allowed to broadcast despite nationwide communications blackouts over protests against the regime.
The broadcast used footage from the moment Crooks' bullet grazed Trump's ear before agents rushed him off stage.
"Death to America!" pro-regime demonstrators shouted while waving signs supporting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
This marks Tehran's most direct assassination threat yet against Trump despite the regime's five-year campaign of revenge plots since he ordered the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in January 2020.
The Justice Department has already thwarted multiple Iranian-backed assassination schemes.
In November 2024, prosecutors charged Farhad Shakeri with plotting to kill Trump before the election on behalf of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Shakeri told FBI agents his Iranian handler brushed off concerns about funding with "we have already spent a lot of money…so the money's not an issue."
The IRGC wanted Trump dead within seven days or they'd wait until after the election when they figured he'd be easier to kill.
Trump Military Action Warning After Iran Protests Kill 2,500
Trump's left no doubt about his response if Iran succeeds.
"If they did that, they would be obliterated," Trump told reporters in February while signing sanctions directives. "There won't be anything left."
The president ordered written instructions for military commanders that Iran gets completely destroyed if they kill him.
But Iran's broadcast threat comes as Trump weighs military action over Tehran's brutal crackdown killing more than 2,500 protesters since December 28.
The regime deployed drones for aerial surveillance, jammed cell signals, and authorized troops to fire on crowds.
Iranian judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei announced Wednesday that protesters will get "priority for trial and punishment" with fast-track executions planned.
One 26-year-old protester named Erfan Soltani was given just 10 minutes to say goodbye to his family before his scheduled execution.
Trump warned Iran that executing protesters means "very strong action" from the United States.
The president already slapped 25% tariffs on any country doing business with Tehran and canceled all meetings with Iranian officials until the killing stops.
US forces began evacuating personnel from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar as Trump refines military options against the regime.
IRGC Revenge Plots Target Trump Since Qassem Soleimani Killing
Iran's been hunting Trump and his top officials since Soleimani's death in the Baghdad drone strike.
IRGC aerospace chief Amir Ali Hajizadeh told Iranian state TV in February 2023 "we are looking to kill Trump" to avenge Soleimani.
Supreme Leader Khamenei shared images in 2021 showing Trump under the shadow of a drone with the word "vengeance" in red Farsi.
The regime's website even published an animation depicting IRGC forces killing Trump on a golf course.
Beyond Trump, Iran plotted to kill former National Security Adviser John Bolton in 2022.
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo required round-the-clock Secret Service protection after intelligence showed Iranian operatives nearly assassinated him during his 2022 Paris visit.
The FBI warned in December 2025 that Iran's revenge campaign remains active with continued surveillance of Jewish and Israeli targets inside the United States.
Wednesday's broadcast threat represents an escalation from rhetorical vengeance to publicly telegraphed assassination plans using imagery of Trump's near-death experience.
The regime broadcast the threat during rallies meant to counter the massive anti-government protests now entering their third week.
But Trump's not backing down from his warning that Iran faces "obliteration" if they follow through on killing him or continue massacring peaceful protesters demanding freedom from the ayatollahs' tyrannical rule.
Sources:
- Ronny Reyes, "Iran issues sickening assassination threat against Trump: 'This time it will not miss the target'," New York Post, January 14, 2026.
- "US Warns Iran Against Executing Protester Erfan Soltani as Trump Warns of 'Very Strong Action': Live Updates," Newsweek, January 14, 2026.
- "3 charged in Iran-linked murder plots, with one targeting Donald Trump as revenge for killing Qassem Soleimani: DOJ," ABC News, November 9, 2024.
- "IRGC officials threaten Trump over Soleimani killing," Iran International, January 1, 2025.
- "Trump warns Iran against protest executions as death toll jumps past 2,500, activists say," NBC News, January 14, 2026.
