United States President Donald Trump on Friday said that the US had missiles aimed at Iran if Tehran attempts to assassinate him.

Trump said on social media that 1,000 missiles are “locked and loaded and aimed” at Iran, with thousands to follow, if Tehran acts on its alleged threat to assassinate or attempt to assassinate the sitting US president, “in this case, me!”.

“Orders have already been given, and the US military is ready, willing and able for a one year period of time, subject to extension, to completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran,” he said on social media.

Earlier on Friday, Trump told The New York Post that he has “left instructions” should Iran succeed in assassinating him.

The remarks came after mourners at former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s funeral in Iran made repeated public calls for Trump to be assassinated, AP reported. Khamenei had been killed in a US-Israeli strike on February 28, the first day of the conflict.

Trump’s comments also came amid increased tensions in West Asia that threaten to break the ceasefire between the US and Iran.

On Friday, Trump claimed on social media that Iran had requested the US to continue the peace talks. “We have agreed to do so, but the United States has stated to them, in no uncertain terms, that the ceasefire is over!” he said online.

US officials on Friday demanded that Tehran must publicly state that it will stop attacking ships ​in the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported. Iran must also declare that all lanes in the strait are open to ‌shipping without paying a toll.

In response, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday that Tehran “has so far kept its word, unlike the so-called US treasury secretary” who he alleged had violated paragraph nine of their interim agreement.

The section says that while Tehran had agreed to maintain the status quo of its nuclear programme, the US will not impose new sanctions and “will not deploy additional forces” in the region.

“That violation follows other violations and missteps by the United States,” Araghchi said on social media. “Reality check: There can only be mutual compliance.”

Fresh tensions

On Thursday, the US military launched fresh attacks on Iran hours after Trump said that the ceasefire was “over”. Iran retaliated by striking sites in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar.

This came after tensions between the US and Iran escalated on Wednesday after the US launched strikes on Iran in response to Tehran’s alleged attacks a day earlier on three liquefied natural gas and crude oil tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

Since the war in West Asia began, the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterbody connecting the Gulf to the Arabian Sea, had effectively been blocked for most international commercial vessels, triggering a global energy crisis. About 20% of global petroleum supply passes through the maritime chokepoint.

On June 15, the US and Iran arrived at an interim agreement to stop the fighting and reopen the strait for commercial vessels. They also held talks in Switzerland aimed at reaching a final peace deal within two months.

Written by Nachiket Deuskar. Edited by Sara Varghese.