A video clip threatening the assassination of former President Donald Trump as revenge for the killing of slain Iranian General Qassim Soleimani appeared on the website of Iran’s Supreme Leader.
The official website of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei currently features a video clip depicting a detailed targeted assassination of former U.S. President Donald Trump at his Mar-A-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
The roughly one-and-a-half minute clip, titled “Revenge Is Definite,” was published on the “Official Website of the Office for the Preservation and Publication of the Works of the Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei” on Wednesday, and features up-close views of the former president’s Florida residence as he golfs with others.
The clip begins with a small remote-controlled unmanned combat vehicle with a mounted camera sneaking on the premises as an Iranian agent supervises from a distant control room.
As the vehicle approaches Trump, it pauses and zooms in on its “target,” just before the Iranian drone operator lifts a note with orders that read, “Those who killed [General Qassim] Soleimani and those who gave the orders must pay the price,” and signed by “Imam Ali Khamenei.”
The Iranian agent, who is sitting across a screen with a photo of Soleimani, then types the following message: “Solemani’s murderer and the one who gave the order will pay the price,” which is then sent to the golfers.
The device then emits a laser while the shadow of a drone appears to approach the former president. The screen flashes to black and then reads, “Revenge Is Definite.”
The animation was the work of a winning contestant in a “hero” contest by Khamenei’s site marking Soleimani’s death in an American drone strike in Baghdad in 2020.
In an accompanying statement, Khamenei states the clip was released “on the eve of the second anniversary of the martyrdom of General Haj Qasem Soleimani and the accompanying martyrs based on the statements of Ayatollah Khamenei about Martyr Soleimani.”
In response to the clip, Richard Grenell, the former acting director of national intelligence in President Trump’s cabinet, demanded a “swift strong reaction” from the current administration.
Protesters hold pictures of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani, during a demonstration outside the U.S. consulate in Istanbul, on January 5, 2020, two days after top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani was killed by a US drone strike. (Photo by YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty Images)
“Outrageous,” he wrote. “There must be a swift and strong reaction from @jakejsullivan and @JoeBiden.”
“And why is @Twitter allowing this guy to use their platform?” he added.
The clip comes as Iran has threatened to assassinate senior U.S. officials involved in the targeted killing of Soleimani, two years after then-President Trump ordered the strike against the Iranian general.
In remarks published by Iranian media, IRGC Quds Force Commander Sardar Esmail Qaani vowed to enact revenge over the killing.
“Wherever it is needed, we will provide for the basis of revenge against the Americans from within their houses and by people by their side without us being present,” Qaani said.
Iran recently announced it was imposing “sanctions” on 52 U.S. officials, in what a senior Biden administration official said amounted to a threat of violence.
In response, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan warned the Islamic regime that the U.S. would not be threatened.
“Make no mistake: the United States of America will protect and defend its citizens,” he said Sunday. “This includes those serving the United States now and those who formerly served.”
“We will work with our allies and partners to deter and respond to any attacks carried out by Iran,” he added. “Should Iran attack any of our nationals, including any of the 52 people named yesterday, it will face severe consequences.”
Follow Joshua Klein on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.
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