Iran has made a chilling threat to assassinate President Donald Trump as tensions between the United States of America and the Middle Eastern nation continue to teeter. When Iranian state television broadcast an image of the POTUS’ bloodied ear, the message accompanying it was unmistakable: “This time, the bullet won’t miss.”
The ominous warning came amid the escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran over Iran’s crackdown on its own protesters and Trump’s threats of retaliation. It also surfaced questions about whether Iran was serious when it allegedly ordered a 51-year-old Afghan-born operative to kill Donald Trump in the weeks before the November election.
To recall, Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old with an AR-15-style rifle, fired eight rounds at Trump during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. One bullet grazed the POTUS’s right ear.
Before the Secret Service agents could stop him, Crooks killed rally attendee Corey Comperatore and wounded two others. Agents returned fire and killed Crooks at the scene. Donald Trump thrust his fist into the air—a show of defiance captured in photos that would define the moment—and was rushed to safety.
JUST IN: Iranian state TV airs death threat to US President Trump saying “this time, the bullet won’t miss.”@BRICSNews pic.twitter.com/EJzJjYmPkU
— Bluegrasspatriot (@kylawndog) January 14, 2026
That assassination attempt happened on American soil, but the Iranian threat represents something different: a foreign government making an explicit promise to kill a U.S. president.
Court documents filed in federal court in New York reveal the FBI accused Farhad Shakeri, an Afghan-born man who once lived in the United States but now resides in Tehran, of accepting money from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to surveil Trump and ultimately assassinate him.
The complaint stated that on October 7, 2024, Shakeri was tasked with providing a plan to kill Trump. Authorities alleged he was given an October 14 deadline. If he could not pull off the hit by then, he should wait until after the November 7 election, assuming Trump would lose and become an easier target afterward. However, that assumption proved catastrophically wrong.
During his first term as president, Trump waged what he called a “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran. He withdrew from former President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal, which had provided sanctions relief in exchange for Iran’s commitment not to develop a nuclear bomb.
BREAKING: Iranian state media just aired a direct assassination threat against Donald Trump — showing past attempt and warning THIS TIME IT WILL NOT MISS THE TARGET.
This is a DANGEROUS escalation pic.twitter.com/ryDZVKXVbK
— Marc Nixon (@MarcNixon24) January 14, 2026
Now, heading back to the White House, the POTUS has vowed to ramp up that pressure. On the campaign trail, Trump promised that foreign ports and traders handling Iranian oil would face serious consequences under his sanctions regime.
The court documents further suggested IRGC leaders did not expect Trump to win in November. What happens now that he has, and given Iran’s public threats, remains unclear. What’s obvious is that Trump’s security situation has become more complex and more dangerous.
In a motorcade this week, Trump was forced to take an alternate route to Palm Beach Airport after security sweeps found a “suspicious object” on his original path. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt explained that “a further investigation was warranted, and the presidential motorcade route was adjusted accordingly.” When asked about the object, Donald Trump said he knew nothing.
🚨Iran issues ass*nation attempt threat against President Trump!
“This time it will not miss the target.”
This tells me the regime is in a full blown panic right now about their citizens uprising!
The people are winning even though it’s costing so many of their lives. pic.twitter.com/xWApXrwBpn
— AmericanPapaBear™ (@AmericaPapaBear) January 14, 2026
Whether Iran’s latest warning represents genuine intent or calculated psychological pressure remains an open question. What’s clear is that Trump’s team is taking it seriously.
Inquisitr has reached out to Donald Trump’s reps for comments about Iran’s assassination threat.
