Trump says he's got a thousand missiles locked and loaded on Iran if anyone touches him. I talked to analyst Nima Rostami about whether that's real or noise.
Here's the setup: Israeli intel claimed Iranian officials were "discussing" assassinating Trump. Axios walked it back within days, no actual plan, just talk. Trump still swapped planes leaving Turkey over missile defense concerns, then posted the threat the next day anyway.
Rostami's answer is blunt: Iran doesn't do this. Never assassinated a foreign leader since 1979, not even after the US killed Soleimani on Iraqi soil, not even Netanyahu when they had the war and the motive. He says Shia revenge isn't a hit list, it's Hussain and Karbala, sacrifice and justice, not sending a guy to your house.
His real argument: Israel and the US don't actually want the same outcome here. Washington wants Hormuz solved and wants out. Israel wants the US stuck in the region forever, and chaos is the business model, Syria's the proof.
So is the missile threat protecting Trump, or is it theater for people who were never the actual audience?
@NimaAlkhorshid
