In his post, Donald Trump called for the destruction of Iran in response to reports of a plot by Tehran to assassinate him.

“If they ‘kill President Trump’, which is always a possibility, I hope America wipes out Iran, wipes it off the face of the earth — If that doesn’t happen, American leaders will be seen as ‘cowards!'” he wrote on social media Truth Social Networking.

Trump accompanied his post with a short video showing the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to refer to alleged Iranian plots against Trump in his address to Congress.

US media reported last week that the US Secret Service increased Trump’s security weeks ago after authorities had information about an Iranian plot to kill him, but it was not linked to the recent attempt on his life.

In particular, CNN reported that US authorities received information from a “human source” about a plan by Tehran to target the former president, resulting in increased protection of Trump.

Trump’s post recalls a similar statement he made in 2019 when, as president, he threatened to “wipe out” Iran if Tehran attacked “anything American.”