Donald Trump, President of the United States, speaks during a press conference at the NATO Summit at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, Turkiye, on July 8, 2026. (Photo by Klaudia Radecka/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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President Donald Trump threatened to “decimate and destroy” Iran if Tehran acts on threats to assassinate him, as the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned an alleged Iranian financier.
Iran said Saturday that the new financial measure was a violation of the preliminary deal the two warring countries struck last month as its foreign minister reportedly arrived in Oman for talks.
“1000 Missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands of more to immediately follow, should the Iranian Government act on its threat, pronounced in many corners of the Globe, to assassinate, or attempt to assassinate, the sitting President of the United States of America, in this case, ME!” Trump wrote on Truth Social late Friday U.S. time.
“Orders have already been given, and the U.S. Military is ready, willing, and able, for a one year period of time, subject to extension, to completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran – PRAISE BE TO ALLAH!,” he added.
The Wall Street Journal and other U.S. media reported earlier this week that Israel had shared intelligence about an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate Trump.
According to Reuters, some mourners at the funeral on Thursday of Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike early in the war, carried banners reading: “We Will Kill Trump”.
MASHHAD, IRAN – JULY 09: Huge crowds gather for the burial of Iran’s late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the Imam Reza Shrine on July 09, 2026 in Mashhad, Iran. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)
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The U.S. president’s latest verbal salvo came after a day of relative calm following a week of fighting and fears that a fragile ceasefire could be about to break down.
Trump said early Friday said that the United States and Iran have agreed to continue peace talks, even though the ceasefire established by last month’s preliminary deal has been scrapped.
In a Truth Social post, Trump claimed that the Islamic Republic “has asked us to continue ‘talks'” and that “we have agreed to do so.”
“But the United States has stated to them, in no uncertain terms, that the Cease Fire is OVER!” Trump wrote.
Iran’s state media channels did not immediately confirm or deny that it had asked to continue negotiations.
‘Technical talks’
Trump’s early Friday post confirmed a report by MS NOW, citing a U.S. official, that the warring powers will engage in “technical talks” and remain committed to finding solutions despite a return to hostilities.
The U.S. military conducted renewed rounds of offensive strikes against Iran in retaliation for the three commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz coming under attack. The U.S. Treasury Department subsequently withdrew a waiver that had allowed Iran to sell its oil.
Treasury subsequently stepped up the pressure on Iran with sanctions against an alleged financier it accused of helping new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late leader Ali Khamenei.
“Following Iran’s resumption of attacks on international shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took action against Iranian financial facilitator Ali Ansari (Ansari), who oversees a sprawling global network of assets benefitting Iran’s leader—Mojtaba Khamenei—and other regime elites,” the department said in a statement.
“The so-called Supreme Leader is hiding in seclusion while his regime crumbles,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was quoted as saying in the statement. “Treasury will continue using every tool at its disposal to isolate him and other regime elites from the global financial system. We will preserve these assets for the Iranian people.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the move was a violation of the June memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran.
“Iran has so far kept its word, unlike the so-called U.S. Treasury Secretary who is violating Para 9 of the MoU,” Araghchi said in a post on X.
“That violation follows other violations and missteps by the United States. Reality check: There can only be mutual compliance,” he added.
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported that Araghchi arrived in Oman early Saturday for talks. Oman has been a key mediator in efforts to end the war.
