What is the story about?
As Donald Trump spars with Tehran over the alleged execution of protestors in Iran, the country's state TV aired a chilling message to the president. Trump has been threatening Iran with military action, a move that is being pushed back by the Islamic Republic.
The footage that was aired on the state television showed a mourner at the funeral of a security personnel member who was killed during the anti-government protests. The individual was holding a placard with an image of Trump's assassination attempt in 2024. The image was accompanied by a text that read, "This time it will not miss the target."
The footage was aired by the Islamic Republic of Iran News Network, a government-backed channel, which was broadcasting the funeral of a security official.
This marks the first time Iran has threatened Trump directly during the course of the deadly protests that have killed thousands of protestors in the past couple of weeks. Until now, Tehran has been issuing warnings to the US government, asking it not to interfere with Iran's internal matters.
Tehran has a long history of orchestrating overseas assassination plots, primarily targeting Iranian dissidents with varying success across several continents. In recent years, however, the threat has escalated to include senior American figures, as Iranian leaders have repeatedly pledged to exact "harsh revenge" for the January 2020 drone strike, ordered by Trump, that killed General Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Quds Force.
Since then, US intelligence has tracked multiple specific threats against Trump and his former national security officials, viewing these vows of retaliation as a central pillar of Iran’s current shadow war strategy.
The footage that was aired on the state television showed a mourner at the funeral of a security personnel member who was killed during the anti-government protests. The individual was holding a placard with an image of Trump's assassination attempt in 2024. The image was accompanied by a text that read, "This time it will not miss the target."
By airing an image of President Trump after the attempted assassination, Iran’s state TV is issuing a direct threat to the United States and to President Trump: “This time, the bullet won’t miss.” says the sign in Persian. pic.twitter.com/BDj7zn8wRs
— ثنا ابراهیمی | Sana Ebrahimi (@__Injaneb96) January 14, 2026
The footage was aired by the Islamic Republic of Iran News Network, a government-backed channel, which was broadcasting the funeral of a security official.
This marks the first time Iran has threatened Trump directly during the course of the deadly protests that have killed thousands of protestors in the past couple of weeks. Until now, Tehran has been issuing warnings to the US government, asking it not to interfere with Iran's internal matters.
Tehran has a long history of orchestrating overseas assassination plots, primarily targeting Iranian dissidents with varying success across several continents. In recent years, however, the threat has escalated to include senior American figures, as Iranian leaders have repeatedly pledged to exact "harsh revenge" for the January 2020 drone strike, ordered by Trump, that killed General Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Quds Force.
Since then, US intelligence has tracked multiple specific threats against Trump and his former national security officials, viewing these vows of retaliation as a central pillar of Iran’s current shadow war strategy.
