Senior Iranian military officials and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders declared over the past 24 hours—across Wednesday and Thursday—their intent to assassinate U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while threatening to strike American military installations in Europe and targets worldwide.
The coordinated wave of bellicose statements followed a directive issued by Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who instructed Iran’s armed forces to respond immediately to threats and expand their operational target bank without geographic limitations.
Speaking in an interview broadcast on Iranian state television, Armed Forces Deputy Chief of Staff Kioumars Heydari issued an explicit threat against the American and Israeli leaders. “We are determined to kill Trump and Netanyahu as long as we live,” Heydari declared. Heydari further claimed during the broadcast that American forces had been withdrawn from the Persian Gulf and asserted that U.S. warships had retreated hundreds of kilometers away from the Iranian coastline.
In the meantime, senior IRGC commander Mohammad Reza Naqdi announced that Iran’s military branches had been granted authorization by the Supreme Leader to strike across any theater. “If the enemy makes another wrong move and attempts to act aggressively again, it will suffer lethal blows in various parts of the world,” Naqdi threatened.
Mohsen Rezaei, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, reinforced the escalation warnings, stating that should the United States resume military strikes, Tehran could target U.S. military bases stationed in Europe as well as on distant islands.
Rezaei issued a stark warning to foreign governments hosting American military personnel, demanding they refrain from military cooperation with Washington and emphasizing that Tehran will regard every airbase from which American aircraft take off as a legitimate military target.
The threats come against the backdrop of ongoing deadlock and sharp disagreements surrounding the potential resumption of negotiations between Tehran and Washington.
In an interview with the Qatari network Al Jazeera, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Iran is determined to end the prolonged state of “no war, no peace” through sustained military deterrence, even without a diplomatic agreement.
According to Ghalibaf, Washington has not yet issued an official response to the seven preconditions Tehran laid out for reopening the Strait of Hormuz and resuming diplomatic talks.