US President Donald Trump has said he issued “very strict” instructions for the United States to “wipe Iran off the face of the earth” if the country attempts to carry out threats to assassinate him.
In an interview with News Nation to mark the first anniversary of his inauguration, a portion of which was broadcast on Tuesday, Trump stated that the United States “will respond to the whole of Iran” if it executes its threats.
“Whatever happens, the entire country will be destroyed. I will hit them hard inevitably. I have very strict instructions,” Trump said. The president also criticised his predecessor Joe Biden for not responding more forcefully to Iranian threats during his presidency, adding that “the president should have defended me as a former president at the time.” Trump further asserted he would respond firmly to threats directed at any American, even if they were not the president.
The comments follow a November 2024 announcement by the US Department of Justice stating that the FBI had thwarted an Iranian attempt to assassinate Trump a week before the election. Federal officials described the plot as part of “ongoing efforts by Tehran to target US government officials, including Trump, on US soil.”
Tensions between the two nations have escalated following protests that broke out in Iran on December 28 due to a deteriorating economic situation. Trump warned against the killing of peaceful protesters and mass executions. He recently criticised the authorities’ handling of the unrest and threatened to intervene in support of protesters, calling for an end to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s 37-year rule.
While Trump initially urged Iranians to “take control of institutions” and said “help is on the way,” he abruptly changed his position on Wednesday, stating he had been informed that the killings had stopped.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian responded on Sunday, stating that targeting Khamenei represents a “declaration of total war against the people.” Posting on X, Pezeshkian attributed the “suffering and distress” of the Iranian people to “inhumane sanctions” imposed by the US government and its allies.
Pezeshkian’s remarks followed a Saturday interview with Politico in which Trump called for a search for “new leadership in Iran,” as data suggested a decline in the scale of protests. Khamenei subsequently labelled Trump a “criminal,” holding him responsible for casualties, damage, and “tarnishing the reputation of Iranians” during the past two weeks of unrest.
On Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned against any new attack on his country, stating that a full-scale confrontation would be long-term, engulf the entire region, and affect the world. Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Araghchi described US actions as the “ultimate failure of diplomacy” and a “looming threat.”
Araghchi stated that, unlike the restraint shown by Iran in June 2025, the Iranian military would respond “with all its might” to any new attack. “This is not a threat, but a fact that I feel the need to clarify explicitly because, as a diplomat and a veteran, I hate war,” Araghchi wrote in an op-ed titled “The Iranian Government Defends Its Campaign.”
He added that a total confrontation would last significantly longer than the “imaginary timelines” promoted by “Israel and its proxies in the White House.” Araghchi also repeated allegations of Israeli involvement in the protests, citing public comments by former CIA Director Mike Pompeo regarding Mossad’s penetration of popular movements as evidence.
The foreign minister claimed that Trump’s threats encouraged “mass violence” and provided “conspirators with an incentive to follow a cruel and horrific strategy.” He alleged the goal was to “drag the United States into fighting another war on behalf of Israel.”
Araghchi also accused Israel of preventing a solution to the nuclear programme during negotiations held in Oman in May 2025, blaming “Israel’s proxies in the White House who do not care at all about American interests.”
Concluding his article, Araghchi called for a “change of course,” noting that Trump’s first 12 months in office had brought only war to the region. He stated that Tehran would “always choose peace over war” and remains ready for “serious and real negotiations for a fair and balanced agreement.”
“Iran’s message to President Trump is clear: the United States has tried every possible form of hostile action against Iran, from sanctions and cyberattacks to direct military attack and, most recently, clearly supporting a major terrorist operation, all of which have failed,” Araghchi wrote. “It is time to think differently. Let us try respect, which will enable us to achieve progress beyond what some might imagine.”
