The Iran war saga has seen its fair share of bizarre and wild twists, and Friday has brought yet another - with the NY Post reporting that President Trump said he "left instructions" for a massive bombing campaign against Iran in the event he's assassinated by Iranian operatives.
"I’ve been on their list for a long time. That’s what we’re dealing with," he told New York Post. Then he followed 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."
The provocative comment, which has unleashed a flurry of commentary and memes on social media, comes on the heels of Trump stating while at the NATO summit in Turkey this week that the Iranians were seeking to kill him.
He had quipped while in Turkey, "And so far, I guess I’ve been a little bit lucky, but that maybe doesn’t last very long."
It seems Israel has been seizing on the opportunity for escalation of the crisis, given its leaders have made no secret of being deeply dissatisfied with the terms of the MoU.
Just as Tehran and Washington stand on the brink of returning once again to full-scale war, The Wall Street Journal reported the following late Thursday:
Israel shared new intelligence with the U.S. that it said indicated a fresh Iranian plan to kill President Trump, people familiar with the matter said, a finding that would mark an escalation in the war between Washington and Iran.
But then in the latest NY Post interview, Trump seemed to downplay if not outright deny the Israeli intelligence. He said instead, "No, no. Israel came up with nothing. No, no." He then clarified that these are old and persisting, vague threats: "I've been No. 1 [on Iran’s kill list] for a long time, and it’s the way life is, you know," he said, before adding, "I hope you'll miss me." From the NY Post in fuller context:
Asked about recent reports that Israel this week flagged intel of a plot to take out the US president, Trump indicated there was no fresh plan from Iran — but said 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.”
As for leaving "instructions" for the US government to bomb Iran "at levels that they've never seen before"... it seems that in Trump's mind the Executive is some kind of hereditary office, as if a 'last will and testament' can be acted upon in the name of the United States merely because a prior president instructed that's what he personally wants to see done.
The interview also highlights how far away we've come from the Constitutional principle of the presidency seeking Congressional approval - or even so much as notifying congressional members - of plans to start major wars.
But it remains that the media will eat it up, and web traffic and clicks will be generated, fearmongering over Iran will increase, and perhaps that's what it's all about. The threat has to always be inflated at peak levels, especially in the middle of a hot conflict in the Middle East.