Donald Trump has warned Iran that the US could take additional military action if Tehran escalates after a major round of American and Israeli strikes that Iranian officials say killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Khamenei had led Iran since 1989, assuming the role after Ruhollah Khomeini died. Khomeini had overseen the consolidation of Shia Islamist rule following Iran’s 1979 revolution.
Over the weekend, the US and Israel launched multiple strikes on targets in Iran.
The attacks came while Washington was in talks with the Islamic Republic over its nuclear program, after Trump had previously suggested military action was possible if a deal could not be reached.
After strikes hit a number of locations—including Tehran—Iran responded with missile and drone attacks across the region.
Early Sunday, Iranian officials announced that Khamenei had been killed, and the government has since said it intends to avenge his death.
Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, delivered a televised address on Sunday in which he condemned the US as “filthy criminals.”
He said: “You have crossed our red line and must pay the price.
“We will deliver such devastating blows that you yourselves will be driven to beg.”
Trump, however, has now issued a public warning that any further Iranian retaliation would be met with an even stronger response.
Posting on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump wrote: “Iran just stated that they are going to hit very hard today, harder than they have ever hit before.”
He then went on to threaten further action if Iran were to retaliate, writing: “THEY BETTER NOT DO THAT, HOWEVER, BECAUSE IF THEY DO, WE WILL HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE! Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Iran has been governed as an Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution.
Today’s hardline Islamist leadership emerged after a mass uprising toppled Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
Pahlavi, a pro-Western ruler, had been installed after the democratically elected socialist prime minister Mohammad Mosaddegh was removed in a UK- and US-backed coup that followed his move to nationalise British oil interests in Iran.
Since taking power, the Islamic Republic has enforced conservative social policies—such as mandatory head coverings for women—and imposed harsh penalties for offences including alcohol consumption, while also being accused of violently suppressing protests.
Iran has also sought to grow its influence across the Middle East, including via the Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Quds Force.
That strategy has involved support for aligned armed groups in the region, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, and activity in Syria, as well as Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq.