Trump Threatens Massive Retaliation Against Iran

Kathmandu. US President Donald Trump has said that if Iran attempts to kill or assassinate him, the US military will launch the most powerful military attack on Iran ever. However, security and constitutional experts say that Trump's statement is not that simple in practice, as there is no pre-approved retaliation system that automatically activates upon the death of the president according to the US Constitution, laws, and military system. Trump claimed on his social media on Saturday that Iran had threatened to kill him or attempt to kill him, and that if that happened, a thousand missiles would be ready against Iran, followed by thousands more. He claimed that these missiles were targeted at the Islamic Republic of Iran. He has also given orders. However, according to the US legal system, there is no provision for military retaliation to automatically start upon the death of any president. Instead, the 25th Amendment to the US Constitution and the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 apply. Upon the death of the president, Vice President JD Vance automatically assumes the responsibilities of the president and becomes the supreme commander of the US military. Then, he himself will have to make the final decision whether to take any military action against Iran or not. This means that the successor president will have the authority to implement or not implement any directive given by Trump during his lifetime. He may take revenge as Trump wished or adopt a different strategy according to the circumstances. According to Garrett M. Graff, author and researcher of secret US government security plans, the US has never used a dead man's switch, meaning a system where military attack automatically starts upon the president's death, for various reasons. According to him, the US has detailed contingency plans to maintain government operations in case of nuclear attack or complete destruction of Washington. However, these plans do not give the military the authority to automatically launch missiles as soon as the president dies. According to Graff, what Trump meant might be that if he is killed, the US Department of Defense should implement pre-determined military plans. However, he says there is doubt whether such an order would be legally sustainable. This is because all military authority will be transferred to the new president as soon as the president dies, so the final decision must be made by him. He also stated that Trump only publicly mentioned missile strikes and did not explicitly raise the issue of using nuclear weapons. However, he mentioned that there is a possibility that Trump could privately instruct Vice President JD Vance to take strong action against Iran if he is killed. A few hours after Trump's warning was made public, Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said that the Iranian people are committed to avenging the assassination of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In a written message broadcast on state television, he said that revenge would be taken for the blood of his father and all those killed in the war. He claimed that revenge is the will of the entire nation and it will surely be fulfilled. The death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei occurred in late February due to a joint military attack launched by the US and Israel. After that, funeral and tribute ceremonies were organized in various cities of Iran. In those ceremonies, participants also carried posters and banners demanding the assassination of Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Meanwhile, the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal claimed that Israel has informed US officials that Iran is planning a new plot to assassinate Trump. The White House has not officially responded to this. However, Trump told reporters during the NATO summit in Turkey this week that he was Iran's primary target. He claimed that Iran was planning to eliminate him as a US leader. Sabrina Singh, former deputy spokesperson for the Department of Defense during the former President Joe Biden administration, said that security agencies are already aware that Iran is trying to target senior US leaders. According to her, such threats should be taken seriously. Trump has been targeted for assassination attempts twice before. Two separate attacks were attempted against him during his 2024 presidential election campaign. The incident of a gunman entering the White House Correspondents' Association event he attended in April this year also increased security concerns. Recently, Trump used his old Air Force One instead of a new plane when returning to Washington from Turkey. US media reported that he chose the old plane due to security risks, as the new plane gifted by Qatar did not have some of the missile identification and defense systems present in the old plane. It is estimated that about 400 million US dollars were spent on modifying the old plane. While returning from Turkey, Trump told reporters that he was Iran's primary target. Meanwhile, with the resumption of attacks and counter-attacks between the US and Iran, the ceasefire and de-escalation agreement reached last month is also in crisis. Earlier, the threat to American leaders from Iran had already become public. In 2022, the US Department of Justice revealed that a member of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had planned to assassinate former Trump administration National Security Advisor John Bolton. Following that, the Biden administration warned Iran that it would face serious consequences if it attacked American citizens or current and former government officials.