ADVERTISEMENT
This warning transcended the typical bravado associated with campaign trails or standard executive posturing. Trump claimed to have formalized this threat by leaving behind a set of explicit, standing instructions that authorized the use of overwhelming, disproportionate force. The message sent to Tehran was designed to be as clear as it was severe: the life of one American leader was tethered to the continued existence of an entire nation’s infrastructure and governing body. It was an evolution of the concept of deterrence, shifting from the defense of borders to the defense of an individual, framed as the personification of the state itself.
