RESOLVING THE LEDGER
This is one outlet's own report from The Independent — the article as it was filed. Other outlets are covering the same event; open the full story to compare every source side by side.
See the full story · 2 sourcesThe Secret Service says it is aware of the clip and is investigating after it was posted by a news agency affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard
Bookmark Comments Go to comments Bookmark popover Removed from bookmarks
The Secret Service is investigating a disturbing video posted in Iran that threatens both Melania and Barron Trump.
The clip, titled ‘Where to kill Melania’ shows a mock up of the First Lady’s motorcade moving through the streets of New York City and calls on “freedom fighters” to take action against her. It concludes with an ominous threat against Trump’s 20-year-old son: “Barron Trump, wait for us!”
The clip was shared on Monday by the Tasnim News Agency, which has been associated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps .
Nate Herring, a spokesperson for the Secret Service, confirmed to Newsweek that the agency is aware of the video. He added that the agency investigates “anything that can be perceived as a threat toward our protectees.”
“Out of concern for operational security, we do not discuss matters of protective intelligence,” he added. The Independent has contacted the White House for further comment.
The video is not the first threat against the Trump family amid the ongoing conflict between the U.S. and Iran. In July, a billboard depicting portraits of Trump , Melania and several of the president’s children above coffins draped in American flags was spotted in Tehran’s Palestine Square.
Another billboard, depicting Trump’s body in an open coffin, was spotted in central Tehran earlier this month.
Banners reading “We will kill Trump” were brandished by crowds in Mashhad, ahead of the burial of Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei , who died in a U.S.-Israeli airstrike on the first day of the war .
Trump has repeatedly claimed that he is a target for Iran, telling reporters at a NATO summit in Turkey that he was Iran’s “No. 1 target.”
“I'm the No. 1, because they're scum,” he said earlier this month. “That's the way they act, and that's the way they've done it for 47 years, but I'm doing what's right for the country.”
Trump later quipped that he liked being “No.1 on TikTok better,” before reiterating that he was Iran’s top target.
Earlier in July, he wrote on Truth Social that orders had been given to the U.S. Military to “completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran” should the regime attempt to assassinate him.
“1000 Missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands of more to immediately follow, should the Iranian Government act on its threat, pronounced in many corners of the Globe, to assassinate, or attempt to assassinate, the sitting President of the United States of America, in this case, ME,” he wrote.
This week Trump said “friendly negotiations” were taking place between the two countries after he paused two weeks of U.S. strikes on Iran, in a bid to resume the fragile peace process.
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
AIPROPX is an independent multi-source news index — we track, compare, and connect coverage from across the web into one place you won't find anywhere else.