As he considered military strikes against Iran, President Donald Trump publicly mused about killing the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Now, a senior Iranian cleric has made Trump a target.
Grand Ayatollah Naser Makeram Shirazi issued a fatwa against Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, describing them as “warlords” and “enemies of God.”
A fatwa is an interpretation of religious law by an Islamic scholar. It can offer routine instructions for obeying both the Quran and secular law. It can also be a call to violence.
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‘War against God’
In an order issued over the weekend, Shirazi wrote, “Any person or regime that threatens the Leader or Marja (May God forbid) is considered a ‘warlord’ or a ‘muharib.’”
A muharib is a person who “wages war against God,” according to a translation by The Jewish Chronicle. The Quran lists the punishment for such an offense as “execution or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite lands, or exile from the land.”
Shirazi also offered reassurance to anyone who carried out the fatwa, according to Khosro K. Isfahani, a senior research analyst at the National Union for Democracy in Iran: “If harm comes to you in this mission, you will be recognized as (warriors) of Allah.”
The cleric’s declaration follows the 12-day war between Israel and Iran, which began after Netanyahu said Iran was on the verge of building a nuclear bomb. The countries agreed to a ceasefire shortly after the United States dropped bunker-buster bombs on two Iranian nuclear facilities and hit a third with Tomahawk missiles.
‘An easy target’
Shortly before he ordered the U.S. strikes, Trump made a thinly veiled threat on social media against Iranian leader Khamenei.
“We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding,” Trump wrote on June 17. “He is an easy target, but safe there. We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin.”
Khamenei responded with a threat of his own.
“Any form of U.S. military intervention will undoubtedly be met with irreparable harm,” he said in a televised address, according to the BBC. “Wise people who know Iran, its people and its history never speak to this nation in the language of threats because Iranians are not those who surrender.”
Four days later, the United States attacked the Iranian nuclear sites.
Assassination warnings
Israel-Iran war
A fatwa is an interpretation of religious law by an Islamic scholar. Some fatwas offer routine instructions, while others represent a call to violence.
U.S. intelligence officials warned Trump as early as last September that Iran wanted to assassinate him, a new book on last year’s presidential campaign says.
The book — “2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America,” by Josh Dawsey, Tyler Pager and Isaac Arnsdorf — also reports that Iran almost succeeded in killing Trump’s former secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, at a Paris hotel in 2022.
Officials told Trump and his campaign staff that Iran had hired hit men to kill him, according to The Washington Post, which obtained an advance copy of the book scheduled for release Thursday, July 3.
The warnings, coming shortly after two failed assassination attempts against Trump, reportedly prompted major changes to Trump’s schedule and security arrangements. Authorities found no link between Iran and either of the men who tried to assassinate Trump.
The book provides few details on the attempt on Pompeo’s life in Paris, according to the Post.
Shortly after he returned to the White House in January, Trump revoked security protection for Pompeo and former national security adviser John Bolton, despite Iranian threats against both men.
“When you have protection, you can’t have it for the rest of your life,” Trump said at the time. Like other presidents, the Secret Service guarantees Trump lifetime protection.
Despite heightened tensions with Iran, Trump is not offering protection to Pompeo, Bolton or other officials, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said last week.
“That’s not under consideration right now,” Leavitt said.
