‘Bomb them at levels they’ve never seen’: Trump reveals retaliation orders, denies Israeli intel tip on alleged Iran assassination plot

US President Donald Trump on Friday (local time) rejected reports that Israel shared intelligence with Washington about an alleged new Iranian plot to assassinate him, directly contradicting media reports that surfaced this week.

The denial came after reports by The Wall Street Journal and CNN claimed Israeli intelligence had warned US officials that Tehran was considering a fresh attempt to target Trump. The reports drew attention as tensions between the United States and Iran remain high.

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Speaking to The New York Post, Trump dismissed the reports outright.

“No, no. Israel came up with nothing. No, no,” he said.

Trump, however, reiterated that he believes he has long remained at the top of Iran’s target list. He also said he had already issued instructions on how the United States should respond if an assassination attempt against him were to succeed.

“I’ve been No 1 (on Iran’s kill list) for a long time, and it’s the way life is, you know,” Trump said.

“I’ve left instructions — if anything happens, to just literally bomb them at levels that they’ve never seen before.”

Trump says US-Iran negotiations will continue

Earlier on Friday, Trump said the United States would continue negotiations with Tehran after his administration informed Iran that the ceasefire had ended.

On Thursday, media reports claimed Israel had recently shared intelligence suggesting Iran was weighing a fresh assassination plot against the US president.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Israeli intelligence passed information to Washington indicating that Tehran was considering a new plan to target Trump. The newspaper said such a move would represent a serious escalation in tensions between the two countries.

Citing two sources familiar with the matter, CNN also reported that Israel had conveyed the assessment to US officials. The report added that US authorities had not independently verified the intelligence before receiving Israel’s warning.

Responding to questions about the reports, the White House referred both news organisations to remarks Trump made during the NATO summit in Ankara, where he said he remained Tehran’s primary assassination target.