Trump Says Iran Attack Orders Would Stand, but Successor Would Decide

WASHINGTON- U .S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he had left standing orders for the U.S. military to launch a devastating attack on Iran if Tehran were to carry out its long-standing threats to assassinate him, although U.S. constitutional procedures mean any military response would ultimately be decided by his successor.

Trump wrote on his social media platform that if Iran acted on what he described as threats against his life, 1,000 missiles were “locked and loaded” and aimed at the Islamic Republic, with thousands more prepared to follow.

Despite Trump’s remarks, U.S. law does not provide for an automatic or pre-authorized military retaliation upon the death of a president. Under the 25th Amendment and the Presidential Succession Act of 1947, presidential powers would immediately transfer to Vice President JD Vance, who would become commander in chief and decide whether and how to respond.

Such a transition would give Vance full authority over any military action, including whether to implement Trump’s stated intentions, modify them or pursue a different course.

Garrett M. Graff, author of Raven Rock: The Story of the U.S. Government’s Secret Plan to Save Itself — While the Rest of Us Die, said the United States has never adopted a technical “dead man’s switch” that would automatically trigger military retaliation after a president’s death.

Graff noted that while the United States maintains extensive continuity-of-government plans for catastrophic events, including nuclear attacks, those procedures do not authorize automatic retaliatory strikes based solely on a president’s prior instructions.

Trump’s comments came hours before Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei renewed vows to avenge the killing of his father and predecessor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who Iran says was killed in U.S.-Israeli airstrikes at the beginning of the war in late February.

In a statement broadcast on Iranian state television, Mojtaba Khamenei pledged revenge against those responsible for his father’s death, describing retaliation as the will of the Iranian nation.

The White House did not immediately respond to questions on Saturday about how Trump’s stated military instructions would be handled if the president were killed.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Israel recently informed U.S. officials of what it described as fresh Iranian plots targeting Trump. While the White House declined to comment on those reports, Trump referred during this week’s NATO summit in Turkiye to what he said were Iranian efforts to target him, telling reporters that he was at the top of Tehran’s list.

Sabrina Singh, who served as deputy Pentagon press secretary during the Biden administration, said threats by Iran against senior U.S. officials have been taken seriously by successive administrations.

She said such threats should be regarded as credible, reflecting longstanding security concerns surrounding current and former American officials.

Trump survived two domestic assassination attempts during the 2024 presidential campaign and, according to the report, also faced a security incident involving an armed individual during the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner earlier this year.

Graff said presidential authority over military operations, including any potential nuclear response, would immediately pass to the vice president upon a president’s death, making any previous standing instructions subject to the judgment of the new commander in chief.

He added that while a president may communicate preferred responses in advance, the constitutional transfer of authority means the successor retains the final legal authority over military decisions.

Successive U.S. administrations have previously warned Iran against targeting American officials. In 2022, the Biden administration cautioned Tehran after the Justice Department disclosed an alleged plot targeting former national security adviser John Bolton. In 2024, during the presidential campaign, Biden administration officials reportedly warned Iran that any attack on Trump would be treated as an act of war.