Trump Claims Joint US-Israeli Military Operation Prevented Two Iranian Assassination Attempts Against Him
A brutal and deadly attack by Israel and the United States against Iran on Saturday, 28 February, shocked the world.
US President Donald Trump has claimed success in a joint military operation between the US and Israel that resulted in the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. In his latest statement, Trump revealed that the military action was a preventive measure before an assassination plot against him could be realised.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with ABC News, Trump stated that Tehran had made serious attempts to eliminate him. However, the intelligence and military operation conducted on Saturday, 28 February, successfully reversed the situation.
“I could get him (killed) before he got me (killed). They (Iran) tried twice. But I moved first,” Trump emphasised to ABC News journalist Jonathan Karl on Monday, 2 March.
Trump added that the large-scale air strike not only targeted Ali Khamenei personally but also aimed at several figures predicted to be strong candidates to succeed him. According to Trump, this has significantly destroyed the map of leadership succession in Iran.
“The strike was so successful that it eliminated most of the candidates. The future leader of Iran will not be the person we previously anticipated, because they are all dead as a result of the operation,” he continued.
Before the operation was launched, Trump claimed to have obtained at least three names that Tehran had prepared to continue Khamenei’s reign. Nevertheless, he chose to keep the identities of these figures secret from the public.
This statement emerged amid global speculation about the power transition in Iran. Ali Khamenei, who has led Iran since 1989, was reported dead in a coordinated military strike that hit the highest command centre in Tehran.
The issue of assassination threats against Donald Trump by Iranian agents has actually surfaced in recent years. In 2024, the US Department of Justice revealed court documents related to a plot by Farhad Shakeri, who was allegedly directed by Iranian officials to design an assassination scheme against Trump ahead of the US presidential election.
The situation following Khamenei’s death is expected to trigger a new escalation in the Middle East. International observers are now scrutinising how factions within Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) will respond to the power vacuum left by their spiritual leader.
Until this report was issued, authorities in Tehran had not issued an official statement about who would fill the position of Supreme Leader temporarily, given Trump’s claim that the main candidates had also become victims in the military operation.
Tensions between Washington and Tehran are now entering the most critical phase in the diplomatic history of the two nations, whilst also revealing uncertainty about politics in the Islamic Republic of Iran in the post-Khamenei era.