Following a U.S. attack that damaged Iran’s nuclear capabilities, an Iranian official issued an ominous threat that President Donald Trump “can no longer sunbathe,” at his Florida estate due to potential assassination threats, per reports.
“Trump has done something so that he can no longer sunbathe in Mar-a-Lago,” said Mohammad-Javad Larijani – a former senior advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader – in an interview with Iranian state TV, as reported by Iran International. That outlet said the video has recently gone viral on social media.
Mar-a-Lago is Trump’s well-known Florida estate and private club. It made headlines during the tenure of former President Joe Biden when the Department of Justice investigated classified documents kept there after Trump’s first term in office.
Trump announced June 21 that the U.S. had waded into a conflict between its ally Israel and Iran, striking three Iranian nuclear sites. According to an update this week from the Institute for the Study of War, a French intelligence assessment found that “Iran’s nuclear program is very seriously damaged and its weaponization timeline is extremely delayed.”
Last month, Audacy reported on Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s claim that “the Islamic Republic delivered a heavy slap to the U.S.’s face,” though its attacks against U.S. and Israel have been largely unsuccessful. Khamenei also tried to downplay the damage to Iran’s nuclear sites.
While there has been talk in the past of a nuclear deal between the U.S. and Iran, Trump recently slammed a past deal brokered alongside Russia and China during President Barack Obama’s tenure as “stupid.” This week the Institute for the Study of War noted that Russia has offered to help Iran get its nuclear program back on track. It also said “Russia’s involvement in the US-Iran nuclear talks would be very unlikely to secure U.S. interests due to Russia’s alignment with Iran.”
Russia began an invasion of neighboring Ukraine more than three years ago, and the U.S. provided significant aid for Ukraine under Biden. Trump has been critical of providing Ukraine aid, but the U.S. Department of Defense announced Monday that it is sending additional offensive weapons to Ukraine as Russia continues its attack.
“Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff,” said Trump in a July 6 Truth Social post referring to Brazil, Russia, Iran and China. “There will be no exceptions to this policy.”
Larijani’s threat to the president – who survived multiple assassination attempts last year while on the campaign trail, including one that resulted in an injury to his ear – involved the mention of a drone.
“As he lies there with his stomach to the sun, a small drone might hit him in the navel. It’s very simple,” said Larijani.
Iran International noted that this threat comes after Iranian clerics called on Muslims to kill Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and after an online platform calling itself “blood pact” began raising funds for what it calls “retribution against those who mock and threaten the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.”
As of Wednesday, the site claimed to have collected more than $40 million. However, Iran International said “it was not immediately possible to verify the authenticity of the figure.”
In a recent interview with Tucker Carlson, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said “the fatwa of warfare has nothing to do with the Iranian government or the Supreme Leader,” in an attempt to distance Iran from the “blood pact.” Still, Iran International said that the “Kayhan newspaper, overseen by a representative of Khamenei, dismissed the president’s remark.”
In addition to surviving assassination attempts last year, Iran International said that the U.S. president “has been a target for assassination threats since he ordered the 2020 killing of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) General Qassem Soleimani in Iraq.” Audacy also reported on an alleged hack of the Trump campaign last year that was linked to threats from Iran.