Donald Trump assassination plot exposed: Iran unleashes chilling message over 2024 shooting

 Tehran has escalated its long-running feud with the White House by airing a provocative message targeting President Donald Trump, featuring an image from his 2024 assassination attempt captioned in Farsi: 'This time, the bullet won't miss.'

Broadcast on Iranian state television in January 2026, the clip has drawn sharp condemnation from US officials, who see it as the latest in a series of threats from the Islamic Republic. As of 16 February 2026, security agencies report no immediate danger, but the rhetoric has prompted a review of protective measures.

The Broadcast: A Taunt Amid Domestic Unrest

The segment appeared during coverage of a pro-regime demonstration in Tehran, where the familiar photograph showed Trump, ear bloodied, fist raised in defiance at the Butler, Pennsylvania rally on 13 July 2024, moments after a bullet grazed him. One attendee died in the attack, with two others injured, though the gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, acted alone, per FBI findings.

The overlaid text, translated by i24 News correspondent Amachia Stein, directly invoked that narrow escape. Independent journalist Steve Ram highlighted the footage in an Instagram reel posted the same day, which quickly went viral and linked to his YouTube analysis. Ram called it 'Iran's boldest taunt yet', noting its timing amid widespread protests against economic hardship and the regime's handling of regional conflicts.

Iranian state media framed the clip within segments lauding Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, blending domestic propaganda with anti-US sentiment. Observers point out that such broadcasts often coincide with perceived Western encroachments, including recent US naval deployments in the Gulf.

Roots in a Decade of Enmity

This is not Tehran's first brush with targeting Trump. In November 2024, federal prosecutors charged Farhad Shakeri, an IRGC-linked operative, with plotting Trump's murder ahead of the election. Shakeri, believed to be in Iran, reportedly scouted assassins and relayed orders from Tehran, part of a broader campaign of vengeance for the 2020 US drone strike that killed General Qasem Soleimani.

That operation, authorised by Trump, prompted vows of retaliation from Iranian officials, who have since pursued dissidents and ex-US figures abroad. The Biden administration issued a stark advisory to Tehran in September 2024 via Swiss intermediaries: any move against Trump would constitute an act of war. Neither the July Butler incident nor a subsequent attempt in Florida bore Iranian fingerprints, investigators concluded.

Yet the pattern persists, with IRGC assets implicated in foiled schemes against Trump allies like former secretary of state Mike Pompeo. Analysts describe the latest threat as psychological warfare, aimed at eroding US resolve while bolstering hardliners at home—hardly a surprise, given the regime's playbook.

Washington's Measured Retort

The Secret Service, already on high alert after the Butler incident, has briefed the president and bolstered protocols, including enhanced perimeter scans at rallies. During mid-February remarks to journalists after an event at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Trump said that a leadership change in Iran would be 'the best thing that could happen,' signalling a tougher US posture toward Tehran and a broader hard-line message directed at Iran's leadership, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Allies in Europe have called for de-escalation, fearing knock-on effects from Israel's strikes on Iranian proxies last month. Congressional hawks, meanwhile, push for tighter sanctions. No active plot has surfaced in recent briefings, but the episode lays bare the fragility of US-Iran ties, with Trump's 'maximum pressure' revival looming large. Vigilance, it seems, remains the order of the day.