One of Iran’s top remaining officials warned President Donald Trump to “be careful not to be eliminated” during Operation Epic Fury, the American military engagement to neutralize the world’s most prolific terrorist state.
Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani posted the comment on the social media site Twitter on Tuesday, following remarks from Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday that Iran was not interested in any negotiation with the United States and that Operation Epic Fury had “failed.” In reality, the operation has eliminated dozens of senior Iranian officials — most notably “supreme leader” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — and President Trump told reporters on Monday that the war is close to concluding, as America is achieving all its objectives in the country ahead of schedule.
Iran has since chosen a new “supreme leader” — Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late ayatollah. Mojtaba has yet to make any public appearances since allegedly being given the power to run the country, however, nor has he issued any written remarks or statements. Iranian state media described Khamenei as vaguely injured during the conflict; some online rumors suggest that Khamenei may be significantly harmed and unable to govern.
Larijani, one of the more belligerent and vocal figures in what is left of the Islamist regime, threatened Trump in the context of declaring that Iran was not losing the war.
“Even those greater than you have failed to eliminate the Iranian nation,” Larijani wrote, addressing the American president. “Be careful not to be eliminated yourself!”
The Iranian regime, responsible for funding and operationally supporting terrorist organizations around the globe, has repeatedly threatened to kill Trump. Following President Trump’s decision in January 2020 to approve an airstrike eliminating one of Iran’s most competent terrorists, Quds Force chief Qasem Soleimani, a speaker at Soleimani’s funeral urged the creation of an $80 million bounty, paid for by a $1 contribution from 80 million Muslims, to be gifted to anyone who kills Trump. Unfortunately for Iran, the only person publicly accepting the agreement was comedian George Lopez.
Last week, the U.S. government revealed that Operation Epic Fury eliminated an unnamed Iranian official who had plotted to assassinate President Trump while he was out of office in 2024.
“We’ve known for a long time that Iran had intentions on trying to kill President Trump and/or other U.S. officials,” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth told reporters. “And while that was not the focus of the effort by any stretch of the imagination, in fact, never raised by the president or anybody else, I ensured, and others ensured, that those who were responsible for that were eventually part of the target list.”
“Iran tried to kill President Trump and President Trump got the last laugh,” Hegseth added.
President Trump addressed the tough talk from Iran once again on Monday night. In a post on Truth Social, Trump warned that “Death, Fire, and Fury will reign [sic]” over Iran if its regime attempts to block shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, which the regime claims to have done for ships associated with the United States and Israel.
“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,” Trump warned. “Additionally, we will take out easily destroyable targets that will make it virtually impossible for Iran to ever be built back, as a Nation, again — Death, Fire, and Fury will reign upon them — But I hope, and pray, that it does not happen!”
Iranian officials have nonetheless refused negotiations or any steps towards ending the conflict.
“We are certainly not seeking a ceasefire; we believe that we must strike the aggressor in the mouth so that they learn a lesson and never think of aggression against our dear Iran again,” Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf declared on Tuesday.
Notably silent on the issue is Mojtaba Khamenei, allegedly the nation’s “supreme leader.” Iran held an “allegiance” ceremony on Monday for the younger Khamenei, but he was not present, resulting in a bizarre scene in which officials held up a framed photo of their leader that gave the appearance that he had died.
Foreign Minister Araghchi told PBS on Monday that it was “too soon for him to make any comment,” referring to Khamenei, but did not explain why.
“We are all waiting for his speeches and comments, which will come later on,” he promised. “But I don’t think the question of talking with Americans or negotiation with Americans once again would be on the table, because we have a very bitter experience of talking with Americans.”
Araghchi insisted that, despite the devastated state of Iran’s dictatorial leadership, Operation Epic Fury was a “failure” because the regime continued to exist.
“I believe that the option plan A was a failure, and now they are trying other plans, but all of them have failed as well. And I don’t think they have any realistic endgame in their mind, because we are seeing some sort of a chaos thing,” he mused.
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