Iranโs security chief Ali Larijani has warned that Tehran will avenge the death of Iranโs Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, accusing U.S. President Donald Trump of being responsible for his killing as the Middle East conflict intensifies.
Speaking to Iranian state television on Saturday, Larijani vowed that Iran would make Trump โpay the priceโ for the strike that killed Khamenei on February 28. He said Iran would not stop until it had retaliated, claiming Trump had misjudged Tehranโs response and that the conflict would not end quickly.
Larijani also accused Trump of believing Iran would collapse quickly after the attack. โWe will not leave him alone. He must pay the price for what he did,โ he said, adding that more than 1,000 Iranians had been killed in the war.
In a message posted on X, Larijani repeated the warning, saying Iran would continue its efforts until it had โreciprocatedโ the attack.
Trumpโs response
Trump quickly dismissed the threat, saying he did not even know who Larijani was. In an interview with CBS News, he said, โI have no idea what heโs talking about, who he is. I couldnโt care less,โ adding that the Iranian official had already been defeated.
Trump also insisted that U.S. military operations would continue and repeated his demand that Iran accept an โunconditional surrender.โ
Iranโs mixed messaging
Earlier the same day, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian apologized to neighboring Gulf countries for retaliatory strikes carried out after the war began. However, he later clarified that Iran had not targeted its neighbors directly.
In a follow-up social media post, Pezeshkian said Iranian forces had instead targeted U.S. military bases and installations in the region rather than friendly or neighboring states.