Iranian propaganda has crossed another sinister line — this time placing First Lady Melania Trump and her 20-year-old son, Barron, in its crosshairs.

Tasnim News Agency, an outlet closely associated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, released a disturbing video Monday encouraging attacks against the president’s wife and threatening that Barron could be next.

The roughly two-minute clip opens with a bloody image of Melania alongside the words, “Where to Kill Melania?!” It then purports to track her movements through New York City, displaying footage of her motorcade and making claims about her security arrangements and personal routines, according to The Times.

The video calls on supporters of the Islamic Republic and so-called “global freedom fighters” to take action against the First Lady.

It closes with an even more chilling warning: “This is just the beginning. Barron Trump, wait for us.”

Russian state television outlet RT helped spread the propaganda on social media, claiming that the video revealed routes and routines using information obtained from “anonymous security networks,” Mediaite reported.

Much of the material, however, appears to have been compiled from publicly available information and wrapped in menacing graphics intended to make the threat appear more sophisticated.

The Secret Service confirmed Tuesday that it is examining the video.

Nate Herring, an agency spokesman, told Newsweek that the Secret Service investigates “anything that can be perceived as a threat toward our protectees.”

“Out of concern for operational security, we do not discuss matters of protective intelligence,” Herring added, according to The Independent.

Both Melania and Barron receive full-time Secret Service protection, and the Trump family’s residences are heavily secured, according to the New York Post.

Neither the White House nor the First Lady’s office had publicly responded to the video as of Tuesday morning.

Fox News host Mark Levin condemned the clip after it began circulating online.

“The Iranian regime continues to threaten the assassination of Trump family members,” Levin wrote.

The threat is not an isolated piece of Tehran’s increasingly grotesque propaganda campaign.

Days earlier, billboards appeared along a highway in Tehran depicting fabricated images of Melania, Barron and Ivanka Trump as corpses. The word “KILLED” was splashed across the images alongside the warning, “Hey, terrorist! Get ready to die.”

Another display placed portraits of President Trump, his wife and all five of his children above American flag-draped coffins under the message “Blood for Blood.” Other regime-linked artwork has depicted Trump dead or staring down the sights of a rifle, the Post reported.

Some Iranian propaganda has veered into the bizarre, including AI-generated videos featuring Lego-like versions of Trump and other world leaders. But the regime’s history of pursuing assassination plots on American soil means its latest threat cannot be dismissed as another crude cartoon.

In March, a federal jury convicted Asif Merchant, an Iranian intelligence operative who entered the United States to arrange political assassinations on behalf of the IRGC.

Merchant contacted people he believed could serve as hired killers, discussed possible attacks and paid a $5,000 advance before being arrested. The supposed hitmen were undercover law enforcement officers.

The Justice Department said Merchant understood that Trump could be the eventual target of the plot, which was intended to avenge the 2020 killing of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani.

“This man landed on American soil hoping to kill President Trump,” then-Attorney General Pam Bondi said following Merchant’s conviction, according to the Justice Department.

Trump has said Iran considers him its top target and has publicly warned Tehran that any attempt on his life would trigger overwhelming retaliation.

“I’m the No. 1, because they’re scum,” Trump told reporters earlier this month. “That’s the way they act.”

The president later wrote that the U.S. military had received orders to “completely decimate and destroy” Iran if the regime attempted to assassinate him.

The latest threat emerged as Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House to discuss the Iran war and possible negotiations with Tehran.

Even as Trump considers giving diplomacy another chance, the Iranian regime appears determined to send a different message — one aimed directly at his family.

Republican support for the Iran War appears to be waning, according to a new Associated Press-NORC poll that found a growing share of GOP voters questioning the ongoing conflict as the Trump administration defends its military campaign.

The survey, conducted July 23-27, found that 64% of U.S. adults believe the war has not been "worth fighting." The polling concluded on the final day of a 13-night American bombing campaign in Iran.

Majority of Americans Oppose Continued Conflict

The AP-NORC poll found broad skepticism toward the war across the political spectrum.

Among all respondents, nearly two-thirds said the conflict has not been worth the cost.

Republicans remained more supportive of the military operation than other groups, but even within the GOP, support has weakened.

Thirty-seven percent of Republicans said the war has not been worth fighting, compared with 68% of independents and 87% of Democrats.

Republicans Split on Future Military Action

When asked what the United States should do next, Republicans were more likely than other voters to favor continuing military operations.

Forty-eight percent of Republicans said America should continue military action against Iran, more than double the 23% of Americans overall who supported that option.

Only 4% of Democrats backed continued military action.

White House Defends Strategy

The Trump administration argued that the military campaign has made the United States safer and remains necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

"What matters most to the American people is having a Commander in Chief who takes bold action to keep them safe, which is exactly what President Trump is doing," White House Assistant Press Secretary Olivia Wales told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

"Americans are already safer for the United States' bold actions to deny the Iranian regime the ability to develop a nuclear weapon, and the President will not stand by as Iran kills our soldiers, fires at ships in the Strait of Hormuz, and breaks the MOU," she added.

Trump's Approval on Iran Declines

The poll also found declining approval of President Donald Trump's handling of the conflict.

Republican approval of Trump's Iran policy fell from 71% in June to 61% in July.

Among independents, approval dropped from 22% to 17%, while Democratic approval declined from 8% to 4%.

The survey also found Trump's overall job approval rating slipping to 33%, down from 37% in the AP's June poll.

Casualties Continue to Mount

The Pentagon referred questions regarding casualty figures to its Defense Casualty Analysis System.

The total reported American death toll of the war now stands at 18.

ABC News previously reported that the Pentagon adjusted its casualty reporting by moving four deaths from Operation Epic Fury into a new overseas operations category.

Americans Concerned About Energy Prices

Beyond military concerns, the poll found Americans remain highly focused on the economic consequences of the conflict.

Roughly 72% of respondents said preventing increases in oil and gasoline prices is either "extremely" or "very important."

Gas prices have risen significantly since the conflict began.

According to AAA, the national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline now stands at $4.10, approximately one dollar higher than a year ago. Before the conflict began in late February, the national average was $2.98 per gallon.

Poll Details

The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research surveyed 1,165 U.S. adults between July 23 and July 27.

The poll has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points. The margin of error is 6.0 percentage points among Republicans and 5.4 percentage points among Democrats.

The findings suggest that while Republicans remain more supportive of military action against Iran than Democrats or independents, public backing for the conflict has declined across all political groups the longer the war continues.

View the poll

American investigators believe Iranian hackers were likely behind a coordinated cyberattack that breached operating technology at more than 30 Minnesota water systems, briefly knocking one community’s plant offline.

U.S. and state officials familiar with the investigation told The New York Times that the attackers’ methods — coupled with the absence of a ransom demand — initially pointed analysts toward Iran.

Three state officials briefed on the investigation cautioned that the preliminary assessment could change as authorities collect more evidence. Investigators are also reportedly examining whether another group posed as Iranian hackers to inflame tensions.

Minnesota has not formally blamed Iran or any other specific attacker.

“Minnesota has not attributed the activity to a specific actor,” Minnesota IT Services, known as MNIT, said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.

The attack unfolded Sunday and Monday, targeting operational technology used to remotely monitor water towers and control wells, pumps and treatment equipment. State officials initially confirmed that more than 30 community systems were affected, while Minnesota Chief Information Security Officer John Israel later told the Times that hackers targeted 36 municipal systems.

The scope of the attack may extend far beyond Minnesota.

“Minnesota was one of the early detectors of this, but we’re seeing that this same threat activity has likely been occurring in other states throughout the nation,” Israel said.

Acting Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Nick Andersen similarly told the Times that federal officials were investigating “multiple potential incidents affecting local water utilities.”

Despite the scale of the breach, officials said there was no known widespread disruption to drinking water or evidence that Minnesota’s water supply had been contaminated. As of Thursday, the Minnesota Department of Health was not aware of any active requests for residents to reduce or modify their water use.

But the attack produced a frightening close call in Braham, a city of roughly 1,700 residents about 70 miles north of Minneapolis.

Mayor Nate George said a plant employee discovered Monday morning that the city’s water tower was calling for more water, but the well supplying it was not running.

“After learning that similar problems were occurring in at least four other Minnesota communities, Braham staff determined that the plant’s computerized control system had been compromised,” George said.

Public works employees isolated the compromised system, restored a backup and restarted the plant within approximately 90 minutes. Residents continued receiving water stored inside the tower, but city officials temporarily asked them to conserve it.

Other attempted attacks were publicly reported in Plymouth, South St. Paul and Maple Plain. Plymouth officials said crews continued operating the system during the communications outage, while South St. Paul moved to contingency procedures. No water-quality problems were reported in either community.

The emerging suspicion surrounding Iran comes after CISA, the FBI, the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal partners warned about an ongoing campaign targeting internet-connected industrial controllers.

“Iranian cyber actors continue to target U.S. critical infrastructure, and the FBI is committed to identifying, disrupting, and imposing costs on those responsible,” Brett Leatherman, assistant director of the FBI’s Cyber Division, said in the federal advisory.

The advisory said Iran-affiliated actors had targeted water and wastewater systems, energy companies, government facilities and municipalities. In several cases, the hackers’ activities caused operational disruption and financial losses.

A separate notice circulated by the Water Information Sharing and Analysis Center said Minnesota’s attacks were “aligned” with the Iran-affiliated campaign previously identified by CISA, according to WIRED. The hackers reportedly compromised remotely accessible programmable logic controllers — the industrial computers responsible for automating essential equipment.

CISA warned utilities Thursday that the same actors were targeting water systems of every size and urged operators to remove programmable controllers from the public internet, strengthen passwords and restrict access to trusted devices.

The federal government has confronted similar Iranian activity before. In 2016, the Justice Department charged Iranian hackers with accessing the control system for a small dam outside New York City. Iran-linked hackers have also previously targeted American water facilities using equipment manufactured in Israel.

The FBI said it was working with other federal agencies to protect critical infrastructure but stopped short of publicly identifying a culprit in Minnesota.

“The FBI is aware of recent public reporting around Water and Wastewater sectors,” the bureau told Fox News Digital. “The FBI and our interagency partners are fully engaged to protect critical infrastructure and we remain well-equipped to protect against cyber threats of all varieties.”

MNIT said the investigation remains active as authorities work to determine the full reach of the attack and harden vulnerable systems.

“Cyberattacks against critical infrastructure require a coordinated, whole-of-government response,” Israel said. “MNIT is working side by side with our partners to share intelligence, support affected communities, and help utilities restore operations safely while strengthening defenses against future attacks.”

PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEF (PDB): Spain deploys military to Ceuta as Spain and Morocco reinforce border after 60,000, mostly male Muslim Arab, migrants ‘invaded’ the Spanish north African city-enclave by sea and land in a single day.

Ceuta, which shares a 5-mile land border with Morocco, sits on Mediterranean coast across Strait of Gibraltar from mainland Spain. A Spanish territory since 1580, it has a population of about 80,000.

Spain will deploy its military to restore order at its border with Morocco in Ceuta after local authorities asked the central government in Madrid for reinforcements. Spain’s government said it would send the Armed Forces to help the Civil Guard “to maintain security in city of Ceuta.”

Shocking videos show hordes of people, mainly young Moroccan men, storming around the breakwaters at Tarajal beach onto local roads.

“The situation is absolute chaos,” the head of the association that represents Spain’s Civil Guard officers in Ceuta, who police the border, told AP. “It’s not possible to give precise numbers, but there are thousands of migrants crossing,” he said, adding that the border had “totally collapsed.”

Both countries agreed to work together “for the return, as soon as possible, of all the people who entered Ceuta illegally.” But it's yet to be seen if and how they will accomplish this.

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Here's the latest defense news from conservative national security expert PAUL CRESPO.

THE PDB - Not the President's Daily Briefing, but almost as good – PAUL'S DEFENSE BRIEF:

NATIONAL SECURITY

Iran war depleted roughly two-thirds of U.S. Patriot missile interceptor stockpiles, creating readiness challenges if another major conflict erupts before stockpiles are rebuilt, say experts.

Arms race for cheaper anti-ballistic weapons is underway.

Winning the peace: The Democratic dilemma of limited war. Military and political outcomes have become increasingly disconnected. As Carl von Clausewitz observed, war is fought to achieve political objectives, with military force only one instrument among many in statecraft.

We know how to protect our troops from telecom attacks. We’re just not doing it. Iran is targeting U.S. military personnel via their smartphones. War in Ukraine has supplied numerous stories of Ukrainian and Russian soldiers killed when their cell phones revealed their location.

HOMELAND SECURITY

Can cyber operations be deterred? What wargames reveal. Most successful deterrent threats leave no evidence behind. For policymakers, that is often the desired outcome. For researchers, it is a nightmare.

Army veteran files $3M claim. Hysterical Washington, D.C. woman accused two Idaho National Guard members of injuring and unnecessarily detaining her.

DEFENSE POLITICS

Pentagon considering sweeping remake of military academies and other higher education, including end to civilian professor tenure and "line-by-line" review of courses.

Army awarded Lockheed Martin contract worth up to $58.6 billion to produce Patriot interceptor missiles.

Navy awards $76.6 billion for new round of Columbia-class ballistic missile and Virginia-class fast-attack submarines.

Senior official at General Services Administration (GSA) recently posted on social media that veterans’ preference in federal hiring is preventing his team from bringing on qualified tech-focused employees.

IRAN WAR

U.S. and Iran trade missile barrages as hopes dim for quick resolution to five-month conflict.

Iran expected to receive within weeks first shipment out of up to 400 Chinese-made shoulder-fired air defense missile launchers.

Drone strike near Suez Canal in Egypt raises new security threat in widening war.

Many of America's allies are growing more comfortable waiting out Iran war, even as Trump administration argues their help is needed to end the widening conflict.

U.S. liberated Kuwait but now struggles to protect it from Iran. Since Kuwait’s liberation in first Gulf War, U.S. has used oil-rich emirate as one of Army’s biggest logistics hubs in world. Until now, U.S. military footprint gave Kuwait sense of security.

MIDDLE EAST THREATS

President Trump says Board of Peace has reached an agreement for "complete disarmament" of Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza, after Israel withdraws.

Saudi Arabia prepares sea and possible land offensive against Houthis. Saudis concentrating forces for what could be attack in central Yemen.

CHINA THREAT

Pentagon says military dialogue with China is strongest in years. U.S. and Chinese defense officials are signaling renewed effort to improve communication between their militaries after years of mounting tensions and disrupted dialogue.

Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington arrives in Vietnam for port visit amid China-Philippines strain.

Pacific Air Forces considering reducing exercise volume to preserve “readiness” as service continues to conduct operations for Iran war.

America still has upper hand over China in its growing economic confrontation with U.S.

RUSSIA THREAT/UKRAINE WAR

Ukraine’s F-16 fighters have become crucial defense against Russian drones, but repeated interceptions are wearing out the small fleet.

NORTH KOREA THREAT

South Korean military inspectors will review incident where troops nearly shot down an unidentified aircraft near border with North Korea before determining it was U.S. drone taking part in joint exercise.

SPACE THREATS

Space food for soldiers: House version of next year’s defense bill revives push to use emerging technology to make military rations lighter and more portable.

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY

Millions opposed military junta rule in Myanmar. Is their dream of a revolution over?

US MILITARY

B-21 Raiders set to be ‘on the ramp’ and operational at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota in 2027.

Air Force’s F-47 program has begun its engineering and manufacturing development phase and will fly in coming years.

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) will kick off its inaugural Lift Challenge competition to “revolutionize heavy vertical-lift aviation” by finding drone capable of lifting and transporting payload four times its own weight.

Army putting pilots in cockpit of its new assault aircraft before it enters force for operational use, to gather aviator’s feedback about MV-75 Cheyenne’s display system and cognitive workload impact.

VA launches trial to test if GLP-1 medication for Type 2 diabetes and chronic weight management can help treat alcohol use disorder in veterans, a condition diagnosed in more than 400,000 veterans.

END of PDB

FOR MORE DETAILED, UNCENSORED, INTELLIGENCE AND ANALYSIS FROM PAUL CRESPO, subscribe to his SUBSTACK