IRGC-linked outlet encourages supporters to kill Melania Trump, threatens son Barron

Content published by Iran’s Tasnim news outlet lists stores where US first lady shops, names her stylists and suggests bribing them to poison her

Iran’s Tasnim news agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, published a video on Monday encouraging supporters to assassinate US first lady Melania Trump.

The Persian-language video, which used publicly available information, named several department stores in midtown Manhattan where the president’s wife is known to shop.

It mentioned security measures taken ahead of her visits, such as the removal of garbage cans from the street, that indicate she is likely to make a trip there.

The clip encouraged “freedom fighters” to use a nerve agent to poison Melania.

It named three of the first lady’s personal stylists and suggested they be bribed to poison her clothing.

At the end of the clip, a narrator threatened: “This is just the beginning; Barron Trump, wait for us!”

The threat was directed at the US president’s 20-year-old son, who studies at a Washington university.

Tasnim’s media license is held by an agency founded by an IRGC commander, and it is widely considered a mouthpiece of the Guards. It was sanctioned in the US in 2023 over its connection to the military force, which is loyal to the Shiite theocracy’s supreme leader.

Iran has previously threatened to assassinate Donald Trump himself.

Earlier this month, it was reported that Israel had shared intelligence with Washington indicating an Iranian plan to kill the US president.

The American head of state also told reporters several weeks ago that the Iranians “want to take out the US leader – me.”

“I’m on every single one of their lists. And so far, I guess I’ve been a little bit lucky, but that maybe doesn’t last very long,” he said.

In 2024, the US Department of Justice revealed an alleged plot by the IRGC to assassinate Trump ahead of that year’s presidential election.

The new video was published during a lull in fighting between the US and Iran and amid reports that a breakthrough in mediated talks may come soon, paving the way to a restored ceasefire and negotiating period.