A senior Iranian cleric issued a decree calling on all Muslims to seek retribution against President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi on Sunday issued a fatwa against Trump for speaking negatively about Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Trump on Friday said he immediately stopped pursuing sanctions relief for Iran following Khamenei's statement of "anger, hatred, and disgust." Before that, it was reported the president vetoed an Israeli plan to kill Khamenei.
"Any regime or individual threatening the leaders of the Islamic Ummah and acting on those threats qualifies as a Muharib," said Shirazi, using a term in Iran's penal code for one who wages war against God, Tehran Times reported.
According to Iran's Islamic penal code, a person proven to be a muharib may face severe punishments such as execution, crucifixion, amputation of the right hand and left foot, or exile.
Shirazi also issued a fatwa against Netanyahu after the 12-day war between Israel and Iran, and recent U.S. attacks that obliterated Iran's nuclear facilities, India's News 18 reported.
Shirazi called Trump and Netanyahu "enemies of God" and urged Muslims to take action against the two leaders.
The cleric stressed the need for Muslims to make Trump and Netanyahu "regret their words and mistakes," and added followers would be rewarded as "mujahid fi sabilillah" (warriors in the path of God) if the two men suffered hardships, Afghan Voice Agency reported.
"May God protect the Islamic community from the evil of the enemies and hasten the reappearance of the Master of the Age and Time," the fatwa stated.
Trump pressed Israel and Iran into a truce, ending a 12-day conflict that had set the Middle East and world on edge.
The fragile peace, brokered by the U.S. the day after it dropped 30,000-pound "bunker-busting" bombs on three of Iran's key nuclear sites, is holding. But much remains unsettled.
In February, Trump said he had given his advisers instructions to obliterate Iran if it assassinates him. Federal authorities have been tracking Iranian threats against Trump and other administration officials for years.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.