President Trump said he left instructions to bomb Iran at levels never seen before if assassinated, escalating geopolitical risk around oil and defense stocks.
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President Donald Trump said he has left standing instructions for a massive military response if Iran succeeds in assassinating him, warning that Tehran would face retaliation at levels it has never seen.
In an interview with The New York Post on Friday, Trump said: "I've left instructions – if anything happens, to just literally bomb them at levels that they've never seen before."
Trump said he has been a target of Iranian threats "for a long time" but indicated there was no new assassination plot, despite recent reports suggesting Israel had shared intelligence about a possible threat. "No, no. Israel came up with nothing," Trump said, adding, "I've been No. 1 [on Iran's kill list] for a long time, and it's the way life is."
The longstanding threats date back to the 2020 US strike that killed Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. Tensions have escalated sharply after Trump declared the US-Iran ceasefire effectively over following attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. The US subsequently tightened sanctions on Iranian oil exports and launched nearly 200 strikes across Iran, reportedly killing 17 people and targeting about 90 sites.
Funeral ceremonies for former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran on July 6 were marked by strong anti-US and anti-Israel rhetoric. Mourners carried banners reading "Kill Trump" and placards targeting US President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Eulogist Mohammad Rasouli called Trump's killing "our duty" and led chants of "Death to America" and "Death to Israel," drawing applause from the crowd.
The funeral procession, described by Iran's state media as one of the largest public gatherings in the country's modern history, began at Tehran's Grand Mosalla and is expected to continue through Qom, Iraq's Shi'ite shrine cities of Najaf and Karbala, before Khamenei is buried in Mashhad. Following Khamenei's death in US-Israeli airstrikes on February 28, his son Mojtaba Khamenei was appointed Iran's new Supreme Leader but is reportedly staying away from the funeral due to security concerns.
Trump's latest comments came a day after he said the US could eliminate Iran's surviving leadership with "one shot" but would refrain from doing so to preserve the possibility of negotiations with Tehran. At the NATO summit in Ankara, Trump described Iran's leaders as "evil" and said, "I may be gone too, because I'm their No. 1 target." The White House later confirmed that Trump switched aircraft during his return journey as a security precaution amid concerns over Iranian threats.
For markets, the escalation raises the geopolitical risk premium on crude oil, given the Strait of Hormuz's role as a chokepoint for about a fifth of global petroleum consumption. Defense contractors with exposure to Middle Eastern operations could see renewed interest, while safe-haven assets such as gold and the US dollar may attract flows if tensions continue to mount. Market participants are watching for any disruption to oil flows through the strait, which could push crude prices higher and feed into broader inflation expectations.
The funeral procession is expected to continue over the coming days, with no immediate sign of de-escalation in rhetoric from either side.
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