Trump threatens to wipe Iranian regime ‘off the face of the earth’ if it tries to kill him, as he seeks ‘decisive’ military option

U.S. President Donald Trump issued one of his most dramatic threats against the Iranian regime on Wednesday, vowing to destroy it completely should it try to kill him.

Meanwhile, media reports suggest the president continues to urge his aides to prepare military strike options that would be able to decisively topple the regime, which appears to have suppressed the protests against it by killing thousands and maintaining a massive military presence on the streets in recent days.

Also on Wednesday, Iran’s foreign minister issued his most direct threat yet, warning that the regime would be “firing back with everything we have if we come under renewed attack.”

Trump’s remarks came in an interview with NewsNation on Wednesday when he was asked about formerly reported attempts to kill him during his time out of office. He said that if there were another such attempt, he would give the order “to wipe it off the face of this Earth.”

“Anything ever happens, the whole country is going to get blown up,” Trump said, “I would absolutely hit them so hard. But I have (given) very firm instructions.”

Last weekend, the president said that “It’s time to look for new leadership in Iran,” amid reports that the U.S. is steadily reinforcing its military presence in the region, possibly to prepare for a strike against the Islamic Republic.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote in a Wall Street Journal opinion column that the regime had “shown restraint” in the war against Israel last June, warning that it would not do so again. “This isn’t a threat, but a reality I feel I need to convey explicitly, because as a diplomat and a veteran, I abhor war.”

“An all-out confrontation will certainly be ferocious and drag on far, far longer than the fantasy timelines that Israel and its proxies are trying to peddle to the White House. It will certainly engulf the wider region and have an impact on ordinary people around the globe,” Araghchi threatened.

The WSJ reported on Wednesday that Trump continues to press military officials to prepare strike options that could “decisively” topple the regime without engulfing the broader region in a war. Last week, NBC reported that Trump wants any U.S. action to be “definitive.”

The lack of viable options was reportedly part of the reason for Trump’s decision to call off imminent strikes in Iran last Wednesday.

Officials told WSJ that Pentagon and White House officials have scrambled to prepare various strike options that would live up to Trump’s definition of “decisive,” as well as options seen as less drastic, like strikes against bases of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC).

Former officials and experts expressed skepticism as to whether air strikes alone would be able to topple the regime, cautioning that the White House would have to decide whether it is prepared to support a weeks-long escalation with renewed protests that urge Trump for protection via military strikes.

Meanwhile, the U.S. has continued to bolster its forces in the region, improving both offensive and defensive capabilities. The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, widely seen as the most critical component of a potential strike, was last spotted sailing through the Malacca Strait and should by now be in the Indian Ocean, on its way to the Persian Gulf.

U.S. officials also confirmed that additional F-15 fighter jets landed in Jordan on Sunday. The jets were a key part of Israel’s air campaign in Iran last June but were also used by the U.S. to fend off Iranian drones on their way to Israel.

The WSJ also cited officials saying that additional air defense components, including Patriot and THAAD antimissile batteries, which could be used to defend U.S. allies in the Gulf, would be deployed to the Middle East.