Trump threatens Iran with “1,000 missiles” while both sides open their mouths in the Gulf dispute

TOI correspondent from Washington: US President Donald Trump has threatened to fire “1,000 missiles” at Iran and “destroy and completely destroy” it if Tehran tries to assassinate him, dramatically raising the temperature in a confrontation that has transformed in a matter of days from a tentative understanding to renewed military exchanges and mutual accusations of treason.“1,000 missiles directed towards the Islamic Republic of Iran have been prepared and loaded, and thousands more missiles will immediately follow, should the Iranian government act by threatening… to assassinate… me!” Trump wrote on social media. “The orders have already been issued, and the US military is ready, willing and able to eliminate and completely destroy all areas of Iran.”This extraordinary warning came at a time when Washington and Tehran appear to be back to square one, exchanging heated rhetoric and even hotter missile strikes despite recently reaching a memorandum of understanding aimed at halting hostilities and protecting maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz (SoH).The Trump assassination allegations exploit the long-held US belief that Iran is seeking revenge for the killing of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander Qassem Soleimani in the United States in 2020. US prosecutors and intelligence officials have previously alleged that Iran-linked actors explored plots against former US officials linked to the operation.However, it remains difficult to publicly assess the direct credibility of the active Iranian conspiracy against the current US president.

Analysts point out that while Tehran has repeatedly vowed retaliation, an actual assassination attempt against Trump would almost certainly trigger crushing American retaliation and could jeopardize the survival of the Islamic Republic itself.But that did not prevent Iranian rhetoric from becoming more extreme. Following reports of the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a statement attributed to the Iranian leadership was issued that said: “Revenge for the martyred leader of Iran is the demand of our nation, and it will certainly be implemented.

These criminals, whose entire chain of command is known – from top to bottom – will take to their graves the wish of dying peacefully in their beds.

“Meanwhile, the gap between the two sides appears to stem from sharply different interpretations of Paragraph 5 of their Memorandum of Understanding. According to reports, Iran believed the agreement gave it the authority to manage the SoH shipping corridor for 60 days. However, the Trump administration has quietly supported an alternative route along the coast of Oman that bypasses Iranian supervision.Tehran reportedly fired warning shots at a ship using the new corridor. Washington interpreted the incident as interference in freedom of navigation and used it to justify renewed military strikes against Iranian targets.This dispute highlights a deeper rift that has plagued US-Iranian diplomacy for decades: Iran seeks recognition of its regional security role, while Washington remains unwilling to cede its strategic control over one of the world’s most important sea lanes.According to Axios and other US media reports, the Trump administration now wants Tehran to publicly declare that all channels across the Strait are open and that tankers will no longer be targeted. Iran’s response so far has been promises of revenge rather than reassurances, which leaves another US-Iranian understanding at risk of collapsing under the weight of ambiguity, mistrust, and competing interpretations.Referring to the agreement reached with the help of Pakistani and Qatari mediation, Tehran’s ambassador to the United Nations said in statements in New York on Friday: “If the United States continues to violate its obligations under the Islamabad Understanding, Iran will no longer consider itself bound by its obligations under this understanding,” according to a statement carried by the Iranian Broadcasting Corporation.