Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, has now reportedly firmly rejected President Donald Trump’s recent call for the Iranian government to surrender unconditionally.
In a series of tweets, Khamenei asserted that the Iranian nation would never capitulate to external pressure, describing such demands as “absurd rhetoric.”
“It isn’t wise to tell the Iranian nation to surrender,” Khamenei wrote on X (formerly Twitter), emphasizing that the spirit of the Iranian people is one of resilience in the face of adversity.
His comments come in response to Trump’s statement, in which he claimed that the United States knows the whereabouts of Khamenei and suggested that he is an “easy target.” Trump, however, indicated that the U.S. would not take immediate military action against the Ayatollah.
The backdrop to this exchange is a rapidly escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, marked by a series of Israeli airstrikes targeting Iranian military leaders and key nuclear facilities.
Reports indicate that Israel has successfully killed at least 20 high-ranking Iranian officials and has significantly damaged Iran’s missile capabilities. In light of this aggression, Khamenei warned that any military involvement by the United States would lead to “irreparable harm.”
“The damage it will suffer will be far greater than any harm that Iran may encounter,” he tweeted, further intensifying the rhetoric surrounding the ongoing conflict.
Khamenei also suggested that the suspicion of U.S. involvement in Israel’s military actions is growing, a claim that aligns with longstanding Iranian beliefs about American interference in the region.
In the wake of these tensions, Trump has asserted American military dominance in the region, stating that the U.S. has “complete and total control of the skies over Iran.”
He contrasted U.S. military capabilities with Iranian defenses, asserting that American technology is superior.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has reiterated that the United States is not directly involved in the assaults on Iran but has taken indirect actions to support Israel, such as intercepting Iranian missiles.
Khamenei’s remarks reflect the heightened stakes in a conflict that threatens to escalate further, with both nations on alert for any provocations.
[READ MORE: New Poll Shows Majority Oppose US Entering War Between Israel and Iran]
