Iran warns Trump: ‘Be careful not to be eliminated’

Iran has warned US President Donald Trump to “be careful not to be eliminated” after he said the country’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, would be unable to “live in peace.”

Trump, speaking to Fox News, had threatened the Iranian leader, warning that the United States would respond with “death, fire and fury” if Tehran continued to block the Strait of Hormuz. He also said he was “not happy with the appointment” of Mojtaba and claimed the US would have the final say over Iran’s leadership.

But Iran’s security chief, Ali Larijani, dismissed the threats, describing them as “empty” and declaring that “even those greater than you could not eliminate the Iranian nation.” He added, “Take care of yourself not to be eliminated!”

The tensions come amid ongoing conflict between the US, Israel, and Iran. Trump was previously targeted in an assassination plot by Iranian operatives during the 2024 presidential race, allegedly seeking revenge for the killing of General Qasem Soleimani in 2020. US defence officials later confirmed that the main orchestrator of the plot had been killed in recent strikes.

Mojtaba, 56, the second son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was confirmed as Iran’s new Supreme Leader on Sunday by the regime’s 88-member Assembly of Experts. He is known for his hardline ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps and is considered more extremist than his father.

The new leader and his family have already been targeted by Israel in assassination attempts. Iranian state media reported that Mojtaba was wounded in the ongoing “Ramadan war,” as Tehran describes current hostilities with the US and Israel.

Trump said Mojtaba’s appointment would “lead to just more of the same” and threatened a new wave of strikes after Iran declared that not “one litre of oil” would leave the Middle East if attacks continued. The US President warned that any attempt to block tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz would be met with force.

“The US will hit them so hard that it will not be possible for them or anybody else helping them to ever recover that section of the world,” Trump said.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards responded, stating they would prevent any oil shipments if US and Israeli attacks persist. A spokesperson dismissed Trump’s comments as “nonsense” and insisted that Iran would determine the outcome of the conflict.

In a separate statement, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said the country was unlikely to resume negotiations with the US, citing past “bitter experiences” in talks. “We are well prepared to continue attacking them with our missiles as long as needed and as long as it takes,” he said.