Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has fired back at U.S. President Donald Trump over his demand for Iran’s “unconditional surrender,” declaring that the Iranian people will never bow to threats or military pressure.
Trump had on Tuesday claimed that the U.S. had “complete and total control of the skies over Iran” and warned that Ayatollah Khamenei was “an easy target”, but that the U.S. is unwilling to kill him yet.
Responding, the Iranian leader issued a fierce response on Wednesday, both on social media and in a televised address.
“The U.S. President threatens us. With his absurd rhetoric, he demands that the Iranian people surrender to him. But the Iranian nation isn’t frightened by such threats,” Khamenei said in a post on X.”
They should make threats against those who are afraid of being threatened,” he added.
He warned that any U.S. military intervention in support of Israel would trigger a devastating response.
“War will be met with war, bombing with bombing, and strike with strike. Iran will not submit to any demands or dictates. The damage the U.S. will suffer will be irreparable,” he said.
Khamenei condemned Trump’s call for surrender as naïve and disconnected from history.
He said “Intelligent people who know the nation and history of Iran will never speak to this nation in threatening language. The Iranian nation cannot be surrendered.”
In remarks reported by Iran’s Tasnim News Agency, he added that the ongoing war was provoked by Israel at a moment when Iran was engaged in indirect diplomatic contacts with the U.S.
“The Zionist regime’s malicious attack on our country came while there was no indication from Iran of a military move. Yet, they struck. This is the logic of the Iranian nation. This is our spirit. We will stand firmly, just as we always have,” Khamenei stated.
Meanwhile, BBC reports that Israel struck two Iranian centrifuge facilities overnight and intercepted Iran’s hypersonic missile near Tel Aviv.
Explosions were seen in the skies over Iran’s capital, Tehran, on Wednesday as Israel launched retaliatory strikes.
