Iran has warned Donald Trump to “be careful not to be eliminated” after he suggested that the country’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, would be unable to “live in peace.”
Trump, speaking in an interview with Fox News, issued a warning to the Iranian leader, saying the United States would respond with “death, fire and fury” if Tehran continued efforts to block the Strait of Hormuz. He also stated that he was “not happy with the appointment” of Mojtaba and claimed the United States would ultimately determine Iran’s leadership.
However, Iran’s security chief, Ali Larijani, rejected the remarks, calling them “empty” threats and insisting that “even those greater than you could not eliminate the Iranian nation.” He added, “Take care of yourself not to be eliminated!”
The remarks come as tensions remain high amid the ongoing confrontation involving the United States, Israel, and Iran. Trump had previously been the target of an assassination plot allegedly organised by Iranian operatives during the 2024 presidential campaign, reportedly in retaliation for the 2020 killing of Qasem Soleimani. US defence officials later confirmed that the alleged mastermind behind the plot was killed in recent strikes.
Mojtaba, 56, the second son of the late Ali Khamenei, was confirmed as Iran’s new Supreme Leader on Sunday by the regime’s 88-member Assembly of Experts. He is widely known for maintaining strong ties with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and is often described as holding more hardline views than his father.
The new leader and members of his family have already been targeted in assassination attempts attributed to Israel. Iranian state media reported that Mojtaba was wounded during the ongoing “Ramadan war,” the term Tehran is using to describe the current hostilities with the United States and Israel.
Trump said Mojtaba’s appointment would “lead to just more of the same” and warned of further strikes after Iran declared that not “one litre of oil” would leave the Middle East if the attacks continued. The US president cautioned that any move to block tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz would trigger a strong response.
“The US will hit them so hard that it will not be possible for them or anybody else helping them to ever recover that section of the world,” Trump said.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards responded by saying they would stop all oil shipments if attacks by the United States and Israel persist. A spokesperson dismissed Trump’s remarks as “nonsense” and maintained that Iran would decide the eventual outcome of the conflict.
In a separate statement, Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi, said Tehran was unlikely to return to negotiations with the United States, citing previous “bitter experiences” in diplomatic talks. “We are well prepared to continue attacking them with our missiles as long as needed and as long as it takes,” he said.