A mural in Iran showing Donald Trump lying inside a coffin beneath the words 'Let's kill Trump' has been unveiled. The artwork appeared on a building facing Enghelab Square in Central Tehran, one of the Iranian capital's most symbolically charged public spaces, with a separate billboard in Revolution Square carrying a similar message.
The provocative imagery is not being dismissed as propaganda. US intelligence agencies are treating a specific assassination plot against the president as credible, with the threat arriving as Iran's new Supreme Leader openly vows retaliation for the killing of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
A Coffin, a Flag, and a Warning In Tehran
The imagery did not stand alone. Coffins covered by the American flag and bearing images of Trump and other US officials appeared alongside the slogan 'Blood for blood, an eye for an eye,' while a separate work covering an entire building facade depicted the White House engulfed in flames. Other banners carried at public gatherings echoed the same theme, with mourners in Mashhad photographed holding placards reading 'Kill Trump' during the funeral procession for Khamenei.
Enghelab Square is not an informal protest site. It is used for gatherings called by the state, and Iranian authorities routinely change its murals to mark national occasions, meaning the coffin imagery reflects an officially sanctioned message rather than grassroots graffiti.
Iran has installed a billboard in the capital Tehran showing US President Donald Trump lying in a coffin.
— Al Jazeera Breaking News (@AJENews) July 15, 2026
A statue nearby depicts the fist of late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was assassinated at the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran. pic.twitter.com/ILvE0RAXrF
Khamenei's Killing and a Vow of Revenge
The murals follow the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose funeral procession drew enormous crowds across Tehran, Mashhad, Qom and the Iraqi shrine cities of Najaf and Karbala. Khamenei's remains, along with those of four family members killed alongside him, were paraded through each city to the accompaniment of sung Shi'ite laments and chanted revolutionary slogans. Crowds awaiting the funeral cortege in Mashhad chanted, 'I swear by the blood of the supreme leader, Trump, we will kill you!'
Huge crowds in Mashhad ahead of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s burial held up a large red banner reading, “We will kill Trump.”
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) July 9, 2026
Thursday’s burial at the country’s holiest shrine marks the culmination of a week of mass funeral processions and rallies. pic.twitter.com/21PabC9yEj
His son and successor, the new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, has since escalated the rhetoric. He announced that revenge for his father's assassination 'will most certainly be carried out,' a statement issued after the burial ceremony concluded. In a written declaration published days earlier, he warned that 'this revenge is the demand of our nation, and it will most certainly be carried out. These criminals, whose names are known from top to bottom, will take to their graves the unfulfilled wish of dying peacefully in their beds.'
Trump has not stayed silent in response. He responded on Truth Social, saying that the United States would 'decimate and destroy all areas of Iran' in response to any attempt on his life.
A Credible Threat, According to US and Israeli Intelligence
The coffin murals are not being dismissed as empty propaganda inside Washington. US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee confirmed that Israeli intelligence had warned the White House about a specific assassination plot against Trump, following earlier reporting by the Wall Street Journal. Officials briefed on the matter told the newspaper, however, that American officials fear Israel shared only partial intelligence regarding the threat, partly in an effort to push the United States back into a full-scale war with Iran. Israel's Embassy to the US has denied this characterisation, saying intelligence was shared 'as part of the two nations' partnership, without ulterior motive.'
Trump himself has offered a more sceptical account than his own officials. Asked about the plot by the New York Post, he said: 'Israel came up with nothing. No, no. I've been number one [on Iran's kill list] for a long time, and it's the way life is.'
The intelligence sharing had immediate operational consequences regardless. The president's decision to return to the United States from the NATO summit in Turkey aboard Air Force One was made after Israel shared intelligence about the possible assassination plot. Concerns about his security were compounded further by reporting that the new Air Force One aircraft Trump received as a gift from Qatar lacks sufficient defensive systems.
Analysts tracking the threat say Tehran's hardliners are using the rhetoric partly for domestic consumption. Middle East expert Trita Parsi told Time that Khamenei's renewed threats 'throw a bone' to appease Iranian officials who argue internally that it is the right of the nation to have its revenge.
Even so, security officials are not treating the murals as theatre alone. A former State Department official cited historical precedent, pointing to the fatwa against author Salman Rushdie as evidence that state rhetoric of this kind can inspire real-world violence, including in the United States itself, while a security analyst noted that the Secret Service must treat all types of threats 'with the utmost care and seriousness.'
With Khamenei buried and his son now installed as Supreme Leader, Trump has publicly threatened to 'decimate' Iran over any attempt on his life, a warning both sides now appear to be taking seriously.
