A list published by Iran’s state-linked Tehran Times on January 31, 2025, placed President Donald Trump’s name at the top of 13 individuals Tehran considers legitimate targets for retaliation. The development, arising roughly 11 days after Trump began his second term on January 20, 2025, has quietly altered the security environment around the White House, shifting it from a matter of geopolitical tension to a direct, named threat against the sitting American president.
The Soleimani Strike and the Roots of Enmity
The foundation of Iran’s stated animus traces to January 3, 2020, when President Trump ordered a drone strike that killed Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani. At the time, Soleimani commanded the Quds Force, an elite unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps responsible for extraterritorial military and intelligence operations.
Over decades, he had shaped Iran’s regional influence by advising and arming proxy groups in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen, making him the architect of Tehran’s strategy to counter U.S. and Western interests without direct confrontation. His death on sovereign Iraqi soil marked a rare instance of a state openly targeting a high-ranking foreign military official, and Iranian leaders immediately vowed revenge. The strike capped years of escalating U.S.-Iran tensions.
The Trump administration had withdrawn the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action–the 2015 nuclear deal–in 2018, reimposed sweeping economic sanctions, and adopted a “maximum pressure” policy designed to squeeze Iran’s economy and curb its military proxies. Soleimani’s killing intensified the shadow war, triggering tit-for-tat attacks on oil facilities, shipping lanes, and diplomatic compounds.
For many Americans, the operation became a defining moment of deterrence, but in Tehran it cemented a personal vendetta against the president who authorized it.
A Named Threat and a Quiet Security Calculus
The January 31, 2025, list in the Tehran Times crystallized that vendetta. Trump’s name appeared first among the 13 targets, a deliberate ranking that signaled the priority of the regime’s retaliation. The publication followed years of Iranian vows to avenge Soleimani, and the explicit naming of Trump shifted the threat from generic anti-American rhetoric to a specific, documented plan.
The list provides a roadmap of Iranian intentions, underscoring that this is not a diffuse posture but a focused intention against the sitting president. Iran has demonstrated a capacity for overseas operations, including assassination plots against former U.S. officials, lending credibility to the threat.
The U.S. Secret Service is responsible for presidential protection, and the publication of the list has given that mission heightened urgency. As of this reporting, President Trump has not publicly responded to the list. The White House has released no formal statement, and the president has not addressed the matter in any public remarks.
That silence is notable for a leader who built his political brand on direct, often combative responses. The absence of a public engagement may reflect operational security considerations or a strategic decision to avoid amplifying Iranian propaganda.
The list remains a live issue, actively shaping the security calculus around the presidency. Standard practice would dictate that the Secret Service has implemented heightened protective measures, though the agency has not disclosed any specific changes to Trump’s security detail. The silence from the administration suggests a posture of operational discretion rather than public confrontation.
The Broader Standoff and What to Watch
The broader U.S.-Iran dynamic shows no signs of thaw. The maximum pressure policy continues, economic sanctions remain in place, and the 2015 nuclear deal is effectively a dead letter. Trump’s name at the top of that list serves as a constant reminder that the personal and the geopolitical have merged in a way that carries direct consequences for presidential security.
The threat environment is not abstract: Iran’s proven ability to conduct operations abroad makes the Tehran Times list more than a propaganda exercise. With no public response from the president, the administration’s posture appears to be one of operational silence.
The challenge moving forward will be balancing deterrence with the risk of unintended escalation, particularly as the list keeps the Soleimani strike–and its aftermath–at the center of the U.S.-Iran confrontation. For observers, the situation underscores how quickly state rivalries can personalize and how a single decision can reshape the security landscape for a president and his successors.
