A top Iranian cleric has issued a chilling warning, claiming U.S. President Donald Trump could be assassinated by a drone strike while sunbathing at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Javad Larijani, a senior advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, made the statement during a recent appearance on state television.
“Trump has done something so that he can no longer sunbathe in Mar-a-Lago,” Larijani said. “As he lies there with his stomach to the sun, a small drone might hit him in the navel. It’s very simple.” Trump responded to the remark with characteristic bravado. “I guess it’s a threat. I’m not sure it’s a threat, actually, but perhaps it is,” he said, dismissing the comment with a laugh.
The threat comes amid renewed tension between Iran and the West. An online platform titled “Blood Pact” has recently emerged, seeking donations to fund efforts to “punish” those perceived as enemies of Iran’s leadership. A message on the site pledges a bounty to anyone who can “bring the enemies of God and those who threaten the life of Ali Khamenei to justice.”
The campaign is rooted in a fatwa, an Islamic religious decree issued by a senior Iranian cleric calling for the deaths of Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The decree brands both leaders “enemies of God” and accuses them of waging war against Allah, as per reports, The Independent.
“Those who threaten the leadership and integrity of the Islamic Ummah are to be considered [mohareb],” the statement declares. Under Iran’s penal code, a mohareb, or one who wages war on God, can face execution, crucifixion, amputation of the right hand and left foot, or exile.
The cleric’s fatwa also forbids Muslims from cooperating with Trump or Netanyahu and promises divine rewards for those who attempt to carry out the threats. “It is necessary for all Muslims around the world to make these enemies regret their words and mistakes,” the decree states.
“A Muslim who abides by his Muslim duty and suffers hardship or loss in their campaign… will be rewarded as a fighter in the way of God, God willing.” This is not the first time Trump has reportedly been targeted by Iran. In November last year, the FBI revealed it had disrupted a murder-for-hire plot allegedly orchestrated by Iranian officials to assassinate the former president.
According to the U.S. Justice Department, an Afghan national, Farhad Shakeri, identified as an Iranian government asset, was instructed by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard to surveil and develop a plan to kill Trump within seven days.
Though Shakeri was deported from the U.S. after serving time for robbery, he remains at large in Iran. Two other men linked to the plot—Carlisle Rivera and Jonathon Loadholt—were arrested in New York.
Authorities allege they were recruited to participate in other planned assassinations, including that of a well-known Iranian-American journalist. The threats underscore ongoing hostilities and the real risks facing high-profile figures, even years after leaving office.