Iran issued a direct assassination threat against President Donald Trump on Wednesday, airing a chilling image on state television showing Trump during the 2024 rally shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, with the warning: "This time, the bullet won't miss."
The image, broadcast on Iran's Islamic Republic state television, marks Tehran's most explicit threat yet against Trump and comes amid escalating tensions between Washington and the Iranian regime.
The threat follows repeated warnings from Trump that the United States would take action if Tehran continues its violent crackdown on anti-government protesters.
The graphic reportedly originated at a pro-regime rally in Iran and showed a bloodied image of Trump taken from the aftermath of the Butler assassination attempt, when gunman Thomas Crooks shot Trump in the ear during a campaign event.
The rally footage aired despite widespread government-imposed blackouts across Iran aimed at suppressing coverage of ongoing nationwide protests.
Iran has previously issued threats against Trump.
In 2022, the regime released a video depicting a simulated assassination attempt on Trump at his Mar-a-Lago golf course ahead of the 2024 election.
That video resurfaced after the arrest of Ryan Routh, who was taken into custody while allegedly attempting to target Trump at the same golf course.
The Justice Department has also confirmed that U.S. authorities disrupted an Iranian-linked assassination plot in 2024. According to court documents, Farhad Shakeri was arrested after allegedly being tasked by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps with assassinating Trump on behalf of the regime.
During the latest pro-government demonstrations, crowds were heard chanting "Death to America" while pledging loyalty to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The rallies appeared aimed at countering mass protests that have rocked Iran since late December over the country's collapsing economy and rising public anger toward the regime.
The protests have been met with a violent response. More than 2,500 people have been killed since demonstrations began, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, with thousands more arrested or detained.
As unrest has grown inside Iran, tensions with the United States have intensified. Trump has warned that military options remain on the table in response to the regime's violent repression of its citizens.
Iranian officials, in turn, have threatened retaliatory attacks against U.S. forces in the region and against Israel should Washington take military action.
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