President Donald Trump has declared himself Iran's number one target for assassination, a claim that has gained renewed attention amid escalating hostilities between the United States and Iran. Speaking at the NATO summit this week, Trump told reporters, «I'm No. 1 on the kill list for Iran,» adding with characteristic humor, «I like being number one on TikTok better.» The president's repeated references to the threat, unusual in their candor, have underscored the heightened security environment surrounding his administration.
The assertion comes as a new report from The Wall Street Journal, citing intelligence shared by Israel with the United States, indicates that Iran has developed a fresh plan to assassinate Trump. This intelligence has added context to Trump's decision to switch aircraft during his return from the NATO summit. The president flew to the summit in Turkey aboard a retrofitted Boeing 747 donated by Qatar, often referred to as the interim Air Force One, but switched to one of the older VC-25A aircraft for the first leg of his journey home, from Ankara to Royal Air Force Mildenhall in the United Kingdom. From there, he returned to the newer jet for the final leg to the United States.
Bill Gage, a former Secret Service special agent who accompanied numerous presidential trips abroad, told Fox News Digital he had «never seen a plane switch up» in the middle of an overseas visit. Trump explained that the newer aircraft was flown ahead to allow U.S. troops to tour it, but the unusual move has sparked speculation about security concerns. The White House has not confirmed whether the reported intelligence influenced the decision, but a statement from White House communications director Steven Cheung emphasized that «the new Air Force One is a state-of-the-art aircraft that has been fitted with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the President and his staff.»
The threat environment has been further inflamed by recent U.S. military actions against Iran. Trump noted that Iran may seek revenge for the killing of its leadership, stating, «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. Who knows? And you know what, I may be gone too, because I'm their number one target.» The president's remarks followed a U.S. response to Iranian attacks that Trump described as ending a ceasefire with Iran.
During a funeral procession for Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Mashhad, Iran, mourners carried banners reading «Hey Trump, we will kill you» and «We will kill Trump,» while chanting revenge slogans. Although the mourners were not publicly linked to Iranian leadership, Tom Warrick, a former Department of Homeland Security deputy assistant secretary for counterterrorism policy and a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, told Fox News Digital that such banners «can only be put together and carried with the permission of the Iranian government.» Warrick added that Iran's «peculiar sense of symmetry» makes an assassination attempt likely, saying, «Many of us expected there would be an Iranian attempt to kill President Trump, and they're likely to persist in this.»
The aircraft change has also raised questions about the security capabilities of the interim Air Force One. The U.S. Air Force, which operates the presidential aircraft fleet, acknowledged that several complex modifications, including some missile detection and countermeasure systems, were intentionally left off the accelerated retrofitting of the Qatari-donated jet. The Air Force stated that the rapid conversion was completed «without accepting any risk regarding security, safety, or secure communications,» but noted that «several highly complex engineering modifications required for the final (Air Force One aircraft) were intentionally excluded from the Bridge aircraft.» The two aging VC-25A aircraft have served as Air Force One since 1990, while new VC-25B aircraft, originally expected in 2024, have been delayed until 2028 or 2029. The U.S. spent $400 million upgrading the interim jet.
The Secret Service had recommended Trump use the older plane as a security precaution amid renewed hostilities with Iran, according to The New York Times. The White House declined to say whether the threat level has changed following the latest escalation, but the president's own words and the intelligence reports suggest a heightened sense of danger. As Trump put it, «I speak about it a lot because the life of a president is very dangerous. I don't really care, because I'm doing my job, and I'm doing it, I hope better than anybody's ever done it.»
