US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he has instructed officials to launch an overwhelming military response against Iran if the Islamic Republic succeeds in assassinating him.
In an interview with the New York Post, Trump said he has remained at the top of Iran's target list for years.
"I've been on their list for a long time. That's what we're dealing with... The only thing is, I've left instructions, if anything happens, to just literally bomb them at levels that they've never seen before," he said.
Asked about reports of a new Iranian assassination plot that Israel had warned about, Trump dismissed the suggestion that there was any fresh development, while maintaining that Tehran has wanted him dead for years.
"No, no. Israel came up with nothing. No, no," he said. "I've been No. 1 [on Iran's kill list] for a long time, and it's the way life is, you know."
"I hope you'll miss me," he added.
Following the NATO Summit in Ankara, Trump altered his travel plans while returning to the United States. The White House later confirmed that the change had been made as a security precaution for the president.
Trump has remained a target of the Islamic Republic since he ordered the strike that killed Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani.
His latest remarks are not the first time he has described himself as Iran's primary assassination target.
"Their leaders are gone. Then they had another set of leaders. They're gone. Now they have another set of leaders. They may be gone, who knows," he said while speaking at a conference at the NATO summit in Turkey.
"And you know what? I may be gone too," Trump added.
"Because I'm their number one target. It's out all over the place. I'm their number one target," Trump added.
The Republican leader also said that although he believes he has been fortunate so far, he is unsure how long that luck will last.
"I saw a thing this morning, I'm on every single one of their lists. And so far, I guess I've been a little bit lucky. But that maybe doesn't last very long," he said on Wednesday.
Trump's comments came after he declared the Memorandum of Understanding with Iran "over". He also described Iran's negotiators in harsh terms and questioned the value of continued engagement.
"I don't like them at all. And frankly, I think we wasted a lot of time with them, I think we should just do our business," Trump said in his first remarks after the US attacked 80 sites in Iran.
"They're vicious, violent people... so far as I'm concerned, it's over," Trump added.
While saying US officials were free to continue diplomatic contacts, Trump expressed scepticism about the prospects of those efforts succeeding.
"They can talk, but I think they're wasting their time," he said.
At the funeral of assassinated former Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei, chants calling for the killing of US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were heard across Tehran's Grand Mosalla prayer complex.
Posters and graffiti displayed at the Grand Mosalla also called for the assassination of Trump and Netanyahu, with similar slogans being echoed by the crowd.
Trump's assertion that Iran is seeking to assassinate him comes as Washington and Tehran continue efforts to negotiate a peace agreement.
