Kamal Ghorui
Iran’s top security official Ali Larijani has warned that Tehran will pursue retaliation against US President Donald Trump for the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as tensions continue to escalate following joint US and Israeli strikes on Iran.Speaking to Iranian state television on Saturday, Larijani said the Islamic Republic would not “leave Trump alone” after the attack that killed the country’s top leader and hundreds of others.“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.Larijani also repeated the warning in a post on X, saying Iran would continue to pursue retaliation.“We won’t leave him alone until reciprocating what he did,” he wrote.The remarks came days after the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran on February 28, killing the 86-year-old Khamenei and triggering a wider conflict across the Middle East. Iran has since launched missiles targeting Israel and US military bases across the Gulf region.In another message posted on X, Larijani said Tehran would relentlessly pursue revenge for the deaths.“We will relentlessly avenge the blood of our leader and our people. Trump must pay and will pay,” he wrote.US President Donald Trump dismissed the threats, saying he did not know Larijani and was unconcerned by the warning.“I have no idea what he’s talking about, who he is. I couldn’t care less,” Trump told CBS News, adding that Larijani has “already been defeated.”Trump also said US strikes against Iran would continue and called on Tehran to accept an “unconditional surrender”.Larijani also warned neighbouring countries that Iran would retaliate if their territory was used by the United States for military operations against the Islamic Republic.Speaking in a televised interview, he said countries in the region must prevent American forces from launching attacks from their soil.“Countries in the region must either stop the United States from using their territory against Iran themselves, or we will do it,” he said.“Two regional countries have said they will prevent attacks by the United States from their soil, although we find it unlikely. We will wait and see. If they prevent it, we will have no issue with them.”He added that Iran had no dispute with Azerbaijan but warned that any hostile activity originating from its territory would trigger a response.“We have no issue with Azerbaijan, but if a conspiracy or flights against Iran are carried out from that country, we will respond,” he said.Larijani, a former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, also claimed that Iranian forces had captured some American soldiers during the ongoing hostilities.In the same interview, he accused the United States and Israel of attempting to destabilise and break apart the Islamic Republic.“Their issue was… the fundamental disintegration of Iran,” he said.Larijani also argued that Washington had miscalculated the situation in Iran, believing it could replicate events similar to Venezuela.“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.“I think the most important problem the Americans have is that they do not understand the context of West Asia, especially Iran.”“Their perception was that it would be like Venezuela. They would strike, take control and it would be over but now they are trapped,” he added.The Middle East conflict intensified after the United States and Israel carried out joint strikes on Iran last week, killing Khamenei and several senior officials. Iran has since launched missile strikes on Israeli territory and US bases in the Gulf.According to reports, more than 1,000 people have been killed in Iran and over a dozen in Israel since the conflict began. At least six US troops have also been killed.Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have defended the strikes, saying Iran posed an imminent threat.“If we didn’t do it first, they would have done it to Israel and give us a shot, if that was possible,” Trump has said.
