A senior Iranian security official issued a threat against President Donald Trump on Tuesday following Trump's warning that the United States would retaliate forcefully if Iran disrupts global oil shipments.
Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, posted the message on X after Trump warned that Iran would be hit "TWENTY TIMES HARDER" if it attempts to halt oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz.
"The Ashura-loving nation of Iran does not fear your paper threats," Larijani wrote. "Even those greater than you could not eliminate the Iranian nation. Watch out for yourself — lest you be eliminated."
In a follow-up post, Larijani repeated the warning, writing that "those greater than you have failed to erase it … so beware lest you be the ones to vanish."
Trump issued the warning Monday night on Truth Social, saying the United States would respond with overwhelming force if Iran attempts to block the strategic waterway, through which a significant portion of the world's oil supply passes.
"If Iran does anything that stops the flow of Oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far," Trump wrote.
Threats tied to Iran against Trump have surfaced in the past, particularly after the 2020 U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
Following the strike, Iranian clerics issued fatwas — religious decrees — labeling Trump an "enemy of God" and calling for his death. Iran-linked campaigns also claimed to have raised tens of millions of dollars as a bounty for anyone who assassinated him, including an online fundraiser tied to a group known as "Blood Covenant."
U.S. authorities have also pursued criminal cases tied to alleged Iranian plots.
In one recent case, a Pakistani businessman was convicted in federal court in Brooklyn after prosecutors said he attempted to arrange a murder-for-hire scheme connected to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
According to the Justice Department, the man tried to recruit hit men — who were actually undercover FBI agents — to assassinate U.S. political figures, including Trump.
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