‘Blow Iran to smithereens’ if they are trying to have me assassinated, says Trump

Regime trying to kill former US president in bid to destabilise the election, his campaign says

Donald Trump said that Iran should be blown to “smithereens” if the Islamic Republic is trying to have him assassinated.
The former president issued a dire warning to the regime in Tehran that he would retaliate with force over reports he is the subject of a “real and specific” threat to his life.
During a campaign speech delivered in the battleground state of North Carolina, Trump said he would attack Iran’s largest cities if any harm came to a candidate in the presidential race.
Trump and his advisers have been briefed by US intelligence officials of the risk to his life posed by Iran. According to reports, officials have identified a growing threat that has “heightened in the past few months”.
The campaign did not elaborate on the claims, which come as international pressure increases on Iran to reduce soaring tensions in Lebanon, where Israel has carried out a bombing campaign against sites belonging to Lebanese group Hezbollah which is backed by Tehran.
In response to the threats, Trump said at a speech in a furniture factory in Mint Hill: “If I were the president, I would inform the threatening country – in this case Iran – that if you do anything to harm this person, we are going to blow your largest cities and the country itself to smithereens. We’re going to blow it to smithereens. You can’t do that. And there would be no more threats.”
He added: “But right now we don’t have that leadership or the necessary people, the necessary leaders.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said earlier in the day that the US government is “intensely tracking” the ongoing threat by Iran against current and former US officials.
CNN said that law enforcement officials have been concerned about the persistent threat of Iran potentially attempting to assassinate former Trump officials and the former president himself.
Trump said it made no difference if the candidate under threat was a Republican or a Democrat. But he stressed that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were too weak to retaliate with the kind of force he would use.
He also thanked Democrats in Congress for voting to approve a bill that ensures both he and Ms Harris receive the same level of Secret Service protection as the sitting president.
Iran rejected accusations that it is trying to kill Trump earlier this summer, shortly after a gunman opened fire at a rally in Pennsylvania, killing one person and wounding the presidential candidate.
Days after the July 13 assassination attempt, US media reported that authorities had received intelligence on an alleged Iranian plot against the Republican, prompting his protection to be boosted. 
Iran rejected the “malicious” accusations.
But the former president released a statement on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday morning, warning that Iran may make another attempt on his life.
“Big threats on my life by Iran. The entire US Military is watching and waiting. Moves were already made by Iran that didn’t work out, but they will try again. Not a good situation for anyone,” he said.
Trump also praised Congress for approving a short-term spending bill that will boost Secret Service funding. The agency has come under fire for failing in its duties in recent weeks following multiple attempts on the former president’s life.
“Thank you to Congress for unanimously approving far more money to Secret Service – Zero “NO” Votes, strictly bipartisan,” Trump said. “Nice to see Republicans and Democrats get together on something.”
Earlier this month, a Pakistani man with alleged ties to Iran pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from an alleged plot to assassinate an American politician in retaliation for the 2020 killing by the US of Iranian military commander Qassim Soleimani.
The defendant named Trump as a potential target but had not conceived the scheme as a plan to assassinate the former president, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The US has also accused Iran of a hack targeting Trump’s campaign, alleging that Tehran is seeking to influence the presidential election.
Iran’s permanent mission to the United Nations in New York and the ODNI did not immediately respond to requests for comment late on Tuesday.
Federal authorities are separately investigating an apparent assassination attempt on Trump at his Florida golf course in mid-September and the July 13 shooting. There has been no indication of Iranian involvement in either of those.
On Tuesday Ryan Routh, 58, was charged with the attempted assassination of the former president in Florida.