Iran’s security chief has issued a direct personal warning to Donald Trump, telling the US President to watch out for his own safety after Trump threatened the country’s new Supreme Leader and vowed to bring “death, fire and fury” down on the regime.
Ali Larijani, Iran’s security chief, responded to Trump’s latest warnings by dismissing them as “empty threats” and telling the President: “Even those greater than you could not eliminate the Iranian nation. Take care of yourself not to be eliminated.”
The exchange marks a significant escalation in the war of words between Washington and Tehran, coming just days after an Iranian operative was convicted in the United States of plotting to assassinate Trump during the 2024 presidential race. Asif Merchant, a Pakistani national trained by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was found guilty on Saturday of the plot, which the Department of Justice said was intended as revenge for the killing of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani during Trump’s first term in 2020. Merchant had been directed by his IRGC handler to kill Trump and admitted the Guard had sent him to the US for political assassinations. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed the leader of the assassination plot was killed in recent strikes.
Trump has shown no sign of backing down, warning Iran it faced consequences if it continued to block the Strait of Hormuz. In a Truth Social post, he wrote: “If Iran does anything that stops the flow of Oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far.” He also said he was “not happy” with Iran’s appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as new Supreme Leader, describing the selection as likely to lead to “just more of the same.”
Hegseth said Tuesday would mark the “most intense day” of strikes on Iran, with more fighters, more bombers and more refined intelligence than at any previous point in the conflict. He also claimed Iran had fired its fewest missiles in the past 24 hours since the war began, suggesting the campaign was degrading Tehran’s capabilities.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi ruled out any return to negotiations, citing what he described as a “bitter experience” with previous talks. “After three rounds of negotiation, the American team said itself that we made big progress. Still, they decided to attack us. So, I don’t think talking to the Americans anymore would be on our agenda,” he told PBS, adding that Iran was “well prepared to continue attacking them with our missiles as long as needed.”
The IRGC separately stated it would not allow any oil to leave the region if US and Israeli attacks continued, while Saudi Arabia’s oil company warned markets faced “catastrophe” from disruption to the Strait — the waterway through which approximately one fifth of the world’s oil supply passes and which has been effectively shut for more than a week.
Trump, while maintaining a bullish public tone, also said on Monday that he believed the conflict would conclude well ahead of the four-week timeframe he had originally suggested, though he acknowledged the US would “go further” before declaring any form of victory.
