Trump hints at retaliation if assassinated, switches presidential jet

2026-07-11

Retaliation threatened over feared Iranian assassination

U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview with the New York Post on the 10th that he had left 'instructions' in case he were assassinated by Iran. He said Iran would pay a 'hell of a price.'

Trump names retaliation target

Trump said Iran had long wanted him dead, adding, 'I've been on their list for a long time.' He said, 'If something happens, I've instructed that they be bombed at a level they've never seen before, literally.' Before that, CNN reported that Israel had told the U.S. government this week that Iran was planning to assassinate Trump. In response to questions, Trump said, 'There is no new plan.'

Why he switched jets

When Trump left Turkey after the NATO summit, he took off in the older presidential jet rather than the new aircraft used on the outbound trip. He later transferred to the new jet at a British air base and returned to the United States.

The New York Times reported on the 9th that the older aircraft has advanced defenses against missile attacks and other threats that the new jet lacks. On the 8th, when he returned home, exchanges of attacks with Iran were under way over the Strait of Hormuz, so he may have switched aircraft because of security concerns.

At a press conference on the 8th, when asked why he left Turkey on the older plane, Trump said, 'The life of a president is very dangerous. I am at the top of Iran's assassination list.' The presidential jet Air Force One is slated for replacement because it is aging, and U.S. media reported that, as an interim measure until Boeing delivers a new plane in 2028, he had decided to use a recently gifted aircraft from Qatar. Trump used the jet for the first time in the United States on the 1st, and on his Turkey trip from the 6th to the 9th he used it for overseas travel for the first time.

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