President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday that he “left instructions” to wipe out Iran if the regime attempted to kill him, as they had reportedly been trying to do.
Trump made his remarks while signing an executive order restoring his policy of “maximum pressure” on Iran. He said that he had been “torn” about doing so, suggesting that he preferred to “work out a deal.”
Asked by Fox News’ Peter Doocy about why he was unhappy, given Iran’s threats to kill him, Trump replied: “That would be a terrible thing for them to do. Not because of me. If they did that, they would be obliterated. That would be the end. I’ve left instructions. If they do it, they get obliterated. There won’t be anything left.” He later reiterated that Iran faced “total obliteration” if it tried to assassinate him.
He faulted President Joe Biden’s “lack of intelligence” for the fact that Biden had not made similar threats when Iran threatened Trump.
Trump also said that Iran was “too close” to developing a nuclear weapon, and that it would not have been so close if he had continued in the presidency after 2020.
Trump also signed executive orders withdrawing the U.S. from the United Nations Human Rights Council, defunding the terror-linked United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), ordering a review of U.S. involvement in the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, and a review of U.S. ties to the United Nations generally.
The president was set to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later on Tuesday afternoon.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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