President Donald Trump said he has “very firm instructions” for the United States if Iran decides to follow through on threats to assassinate him.

Trump's remarks come after Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called Trump a "criminal" and accused him of encouraging protesters.

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a public speech on Jan. 17 that Trump is a "criminal" and responsible for the protests’ casualties due to his support for the demonstrations. That same day, the U.S. president said the country needed “new leadership" in the interview with Politico.

Top Trump administration officials met Tuesday to further refine a set of options for the president to take action against Iran amid its deadly crackdown on protesters.

President Donald Trump has called for “new leadership” in Iran after reading a series of social media posts from the country’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, on Saturday, POLITICO reported.

President Trump thanks Iran for stopping mass executions and signals a step back from earlier suggestions of possible U.S. military action as protests continue.

The ayatollah claimed in a defiant address that "the Iranian nation has defeated America" as Trump appeared to partially back away from threats to intervene.

Emerging on Tuesday from a late-night Situation Room meeting to discuss options for striking Iran, some of President Donald Trump’s top national security officials were relatively sure a decision on military action was close at hand.

President Donald Trump is delaying military action in Iran after claiming execution cancellations amid ongoing protests that have reportedly killed over 2,000 people.