Iran’s top security official Ali Larijani has warned that US President Donald Trump will “pay the price” for the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as tensions escalate in the ongoing US-Iran-Israel conflict in the Middle East.
Larijani’s remarks drew a swift response from Trump, who dismissed the threat during an interview and said he “couldn’t care less.”
Larijani Vows Retaliation
Speaking to Iranian state television on Saturday, Larijani, who had served as a senior advisor to Khamenei, said Iran would avenge the killing of its leader, who died in a US-Israeli strike on February 28.
He accused Trump of misjudging Tehran’s reaction and warned that the conflict would not end quickly.
“Trump got a taste of what happened in Venezuela and liked it, thinking he could quickly do the same in Iran. Now he’s stuck,” Larijani said.
“We will not leave him alone. He must pay the price for what he did. He killed our leader and martyred more than 1,000 of our people. This is not a simple matter,” Larijani said.
Reiterating the warning in a post on X, he said Iran would continue to pursue retaliation.
“We won’t leave him alone until we reciprocate what he did,” he wrote.
Larijani has emerged as one of Iran’s most prominent leaders in the aftermath of Khamenei’s killing on the first day of the war.
Trump Dismisses Threat
In a phone interview with CBS News late Saturday evening, Trump rejected the threats made by Larijani.
“I have no idea what he’s talking about, who he is. I couldn’t care less,” Mr. Trump told CBS News, adding that Larijani has “already been defeated.”
The US president also pushed back against critical remarks from Larijani and other Iranian leaders, describing them as weak and increasingly diminished in the region.
Trump reiterated that US strikes would continue as he demands an “unconditional surrender” from Iran.
When asked about Larijani during the interview, Trump said: “He intended to take over the Middle East and he’s conceded and surrendered to all of those countries because of me.”
“He’s already surrendered to all of the Middle Eastern countries because he was trying to take over the entire Middle East. That’s why all of those rockets were long ago aimed at those countries. He had that planned, long before this started.”
Iranian President Issues Apology
Earlier on Saturday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian released a video apologising to Iran’s neighbours for retaliatory strikes carried out against Israel and US bases in the Middle East, saying Tehran would stop striking other Persian Gulf states unless attacked first.
However, Pezeshkian later appeared to reverse the remarks in a follow-up social media post.
“We have not attacked our friendly and neighboring countries. Rather, we have targeted U.S. military bases, facilities, and installations in the region,” Pezeshkian said.
The exchange of threats comes as the conflict between Iran, the United States and Israel continues to intensify following the killing of Khamenei.
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