"Beware": Top Iranian security official threatens Trump
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President Trump speaks to reporters during a news conference on March 9 in Doral, Florida. Photo: Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images
After President Trump threatened further "Death, Fire, and Fury" against Iran, the secretary of its Supreme National Security Council issued an ominous warning to him on social media.
The big picture: Despite Trump signaling that the war is nearing a close, he has made it clear that he doesn't accept Iran's newly installed leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, and won't tolerate attempts to choke off oil coming through the Strait of Hormuz.
Driving the news: After oil prices soared, Trump said Monday night he'd hit Iran "TWENTY TIMES HARDER" if the critical trade artery remains an issue.
- Overnight, Trump also told Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst he's "not happy" with Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, the hardline cleric son of the deceased ayatollah Ali Khameni.
- "I don't believe he can live in peace," he said, as reported by Fox News.
The other side: Ali Larijani, Iran's top national security official and a confidant of the slain Khamenei, shot back at Trump on X, saying Iran did not fear his "hollow threats," per a translation.
- "So beware lest you be the one who disappears," he wrote, according to a translation of the post.
- Larijani previously said Trump "must pay" for the strikes. In an interview with CBS News, Trump brushed off the threat, saying he "couldn't care less."
The White House did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
Zoom out: The war of words came after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it would "determine the end of the war," per state media, and vowed that Tehran would not allow the export of "one litre of oil" from the region if the U.S. and Israeli attacks continued.
Catch up quick: Trump told Axios in an interview last week that he needed to be personally involved in selecting Iran's next leader.
- He said Sunday that person wouldn't "last long" without his approval, ABC News reported.
- Trump has reportedly expressed openness to targeting Mojtaba Khamenei if U.S. demands aren't met, the WSJ reports.
What we're watching: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday said Khamenei "would be wise to heed the words of our president, which is to not pursue nuclear weapons and come out and state as such."
- Asked during a press conference about reports that Khamenei had already been wounded, Hegseth would not comment on his status.
- Hegseth also said Tuesday that "today will be, yet again, our most intense day of strikes inside Iran."
Go deeper: Trump and Putin discuss end to Iran and Ukraine wars on call
Editor's note: This story was updated with additional context.
