Trump threatens Iran with missile strikes after reports of assassination plot

The threat followed the funeral of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, who was killed in an airstrike on Feb. 28. During the funeral, mourners repeatedly held posters or banners calling for Trump to be killed along with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to media reports.

Funeral and calls for retaliation

Media reports indicate that Trump received intelligence briefings from Israeli authorities that the Iranian regime was targeting him for assassination. The Israeli authorities provided intelligence briefings to Trump regarding an alleged Iranian assassination plot against him, according to those reports.

Iran has insisted its theocracy is unified after the war under the country's new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X that "Reality check: There can only be mutual compliance," signaling Tehran's position in any future negotiations.

The Strait of Hormuz remains a central point of friction. U.S. officials demanded that Iran make a public statement saying the strait is open and that ships crossing the vital corridor won't be attacked any longer. However, Tehran's diplomat at the United Nations told reporters that any activity in the Strait of Hormuz, including its opening or demining operations, "rests exclusively with Iran."

Strait of Hormuz at center of dispute

Araghchi plans to discuss the strait with his Omani counterpart at a meeting Saturday in Oman, Iran's state-run IRNA news agency said. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told his country's state broadcaster TRT that he believed "a solution can be reached" this weekend between Iran and Oman, which lie on opposite sides of the narrow waterway.

Qatari mediators separately traveled to Iran to meet with officials on Friday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said. The diplomatic activity suggests back-channel efforts to ease tensions even as Trump's public posture remained combative.

Iran's grip on the strait during the conflict led to a global energy crisis, though oil prices have sharply dropped since wartime highs of $120 a barrel. The U.S. continues to urge mariners to travel on a southern route through Oman's territorial waters to avoid Iranian waters and the commands of its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

Nuclear talks and remaining obstacles

On the nuclear question, U.S. officials told journalists that any deal on Iran's nuclear program would require Tehran to turn over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. That's something Iran has repeatedly refused, leaving a major obstacle to any broader agreement.

Israel did not claim additional strikes that reportedly hit Iran after the U.S. wrapped up its latest strikes on Thursday, leaving questions about who else may be targeting the Islamic Republic. The strikes may have been launched by Gulf Arab states as a means to deter Iran from attacking them again, according to reporting.

Unclaimed strikes and regional actors

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a nationwide advocacy group, has in the past criticized Trump's "deranged mocking of Islam." Trump repeatedly during the war and its uneasy ceasefire has invoked the name of God in Arabic, as well as threatened to destroy Iran's very civilization.

The exchange of threats marks a sharp escalation in rhetoric even as diplomatic contacts continue. Trump's Saturday post and Iran's insistence on control of the strait suggest both sides are preparing for a prolonged standoff rather than an immediate resolution.

The article's headline states that Trump "praises Allah," though the body of the article does not elaborate on this claim. Trump's social media post included the phrase "PRAISE BE TO ALLAH!" alongside his threat to destroy Iran.