The geopolitical shockwaves following the joint US–Israeli strikes on Iran, launched under the name Operation Epic Fury, have extended beyond the battlefield, raising questions about retaliation, succession and presidential security after the confirmed death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. On Saturday, 28 February 2026, the United States and Israel launched what President Donald Trump described as “major combat operations” targeting Iran’s missile and nuclear infrastructure. Posting on Truth Social, Trump declared: “we are going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground.” He later stated that the objective was to “ensure that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon.” The strikes resulted in significant civilian casualties, including at least 153 people and children reportedly killed after a strike hit a school in Minab, and culminated in the death of Khamenei, 86, in missile strikes around Tehran.
Iranian students who study in Russia lay flowers by a portrait of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed during U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, outside Iran’s embassy in Moscow, Monday, March 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
In response, Iran launched retaliatory strikes across the region, targeting Israel and Gulf states including Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait. The BBC reported that at least nine people were killed in a strike on the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh. Military and civilian sites were hit, including an American naval base in Bahrain and Dubai International Airport in the UAE. Airport closures in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha, major global transport hubs, left thousands stranded, including British citizens.
Trump’s warning over assassination threats
Amid fears of further escalation, attention has turned to the possibility of assassination attempts against the US president. A clip dated February 2025 resurfaced following Khamenei’s death, showing Trump responding to a question about what would happen if Iran or its proxy groups, Hamas and Hezbollah, attempted to kill him. “That would be a terrible thing for them to do,” Trump said. “Not because of me, if they did that they would be obliterated… that would be the end.” He added that he had “left instructions” in the event such a scenario occurred and warned that there would be “nothing left” of Iran. In a separate interview on NewsNation’s Katie Pavlich Tonight, Trump was even more direct: “I have very firm instructions – anything happens, they’re going to wipe them off the face of this earth.”Iran’s warning from January 2026, issued well before the current conflict escalated, underscored Tehran’s stance on direct action against its leadership. Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi, a spokesperson for Iran’s armed forces, said at the time: “Trump knows that if any hand of aggression is extended toward our leader, we not only cut that hand but also we will set fire to their world,” adding that this was “not a slogan” and signalling that Tehran would retaliate decisively if its supreme leader were targeted.
“I got him before he got me”
In a phone call late Sunday with ABC News reporter Jonathan Karl, Trump framed the operation in personal terms. “I got him before he got me,” Trump said, referring to Khamenei. “They tried twice,” he said of previous attempts on his life. “Well, I got him first.” According to reporting by the New York Post, Trump also claimed Saturday’s operation was “so successful, it knocked out most of the candidates” expected to succeed Khamenei.
FILE- In this picture released by the official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei listens to the then commander of the Revolutionary Guard Mohammad Ali Jafari during a graduation ceremony of a group of the guard’s officers in Tehran, Iran, May 20, 2015. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP, File)
“It’s not going to be anybody that we were thinking of because they’re all dead,” Trump predicted. He acknowledged that the conflict could extend “four or five more weeks” and confirmed that four US military members had already been killed. “It’s war and you have casualties in war,” he said. Trump also described Khamenei as “one of the most evil people in history” and wrote: “This is not only Justice for the people of Iran, but for all Great Americans, and those people from many Countries throughout the World, that have been killed or mutilated by Khamenei and his gang of bloodthirsty THUGS.”
Past assassination plots and alleged IRGC links
Iran has threatened retaliation against Trump since 2020, following the US killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. In 2024, Trump survived two alleged assassination attempts: a shooting incident at a rally and a separate armed threat while golfing in Florida. Months later, US authorities charged Farhad Shakeri, described by the Justice Department as an “Iranian asset,” over an alleged Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-linked plot to kill Trump.
Donald Trump reacts following an assassination attempt at a campaign event in Butler in July, 2024
According to the New York Post, an IRGC official allegedly ordered Shakeri to stalk and assassinate Trump in the final weeks of the 2024 campaign. A criminal complaint unsealed in Manhattan federal court stated that Shakeri, who previously served time in US prisons for robbery, told the FBI an IRGC contact had instructed him to develop a plan within seven days to surveil and kill Trump. If he failed to meet the deadline, the hit would be postponed because it would be easier to kill Trump if he lost the election. Iran denied involvement in any assassination plots. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously claimed in June 2025 that Iran orchestrated two failed attempts on Trump’s life. When pressed, Netanyahu said: “Through proxies, yes. Through their intel, yes. They want to kill him.”
Could Iran strike US soil?
As it stands, Iran is not understood to possess missiles capable of reaching the continental United States. That assessment, however, does not eliminate the risk of covert or proxy operations. Security analysts note that threats to US presidents have historically emerged from individuals or small cells rather than overt foreign military strikes. While no protection system is absolute, the President of the United States remains among the most heavily protected individuals globally, with layered air defence, real-time intelligence monitoring, hardened transport protocols, constant Secret Service protection and rapid military response capabilities. If retaliation were to materialise, it would be more likely to come through covert channels than a direct missile strike.
What happens if a sitting president dies in office?
The constitutional framework for presidential succession is well established. Should a sitting president die in office, the presidency passes immediately to the vice president. If such a scenario were to occur now, Vice President JD Vance would assume office. At 41, he would become the youngest US president in history if sworn in before August 2026. Upon taking office, he would appoint a new vice president, subject to approval by both houses of Congress, and would have the authority to form his own cabinet.
Vice President JD Vance hosts an episode of “The Charlie Kirk Show” at the White House, following the assassination of the show’s namesake, Monday, Sept., 15, 2025, in Washington. (The New York Times via AP, Pool)
Eight US presidents have died in office, and the transition mechanisms have been rehearsed extensively within the White House and federal government.
Regional escalation and uncertainty
The US–Israeli operation followed weeks of rising tensions and threats of military action unless Iran agreed to a new deal over its nuclear programme. Iran has repeatedly insisted its nuclear activities are “entirely peaceful.” Israel’s defence minister said the objective of the retaliation strikes was to “remove threats against the State of Israel.” The coming weeks now hinge on whether the confrontation stabilises or expands further. Trump has signalled readiness for continued military engagement, while warning that any attempt on his life would trigger total destruction. In his own words: “anything happens, they’re going to wipe them off the face of this earth.”
