United States President Donald Trump has issued a stern warning to Iran, saying any attempt to assassinate him would trigger “total destruction” of the country.

Speaking on NewsNation’s Katie Pavlich Tonight on Tuesday, Trump said, “Well, they shouldn’t be doing it but I’ve left notification, if anything ever happens, we’re going to blow the whole — the whole country’s going to get blown up.”

Trump revealed that intelligence officials during the Biden administration had briefed him about alleged assassination threats while he was campaigning for the 2024 presidential election. Former Attorney General Merrick Garland previously said the plot was linked to retaliation for the 2020 U.S. killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani.

He criticised former President Joe Biden for not publicly addressing the threat, insisting that presidents should defend one another in such situations.

“But I have very firm instructions,” Trump said. “Anything happens, they’re going to wipe them off the face of this earth.”

Trump has made similar statements before, following an executive order granting him wide-ranging powers to confront Iran and maintain maximum pressure. He warned that Iran would face obliteration if it ever acted against him.

He also noted that military action remains on the table after weeks of anti-government protests in Iran, which reportedly left more than 3,300 dead during clashes with security forces. Trump added that he had been informed the executions of demonstrators had recently stopped.