Tehran officials reject negotiations while issuing warnings during the ongoing U.S. military campaign known as Operation Epic Fury.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A senior Iranian official issued a warning directed at President Donald Trump this week as tensions continue to escalate during the U.S. military campaign against Iran known as Operation Epic Fury, while the country’s newly installed supreme leader has yet to appear publicly following his appointment.
Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, delivered the warning in a message posted online Tuesday. The comment came after Iran’s foreign minister declared the country would not negotiate with the United States despite the ongoing military conflict.
Larijani wrote in a message published by the Iranian news outlet Tasnim News that Iran would endure the conflict and warned the American president directly.
“Even those greater than you have failed to eliminate the Iranian nation,” Larijani said in the statement directed at Trump. “Be careful not to be eliminated yourself!”
The remarks came as Iranian leaders continued to reject negotiations while the United States and Israel conduct coordinated strikes against Iranian military infrastructure as part of Operation Epic Fury.
Iran’s government recently named Mojtaba Khamenei as the country’s new supreme leader following the death of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed during the conflict alongside other senior regime officials.
Despite the leadership transition, Mojtaba Khamenei has not appeared publicly or issued official statements since the announcement that he would assume the position. Iranian state media have reported that he was injured during the conflict, though the extent of those injuries remains unclear.
Reports of an allegiance ceremony held Monday for the new leader drew attention after Mojtaba Khamenei did not attend the event in person, with officials instead displaying a framed photograph of him during the proceedings.
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, addressed the issue during an interview in which he said the new leader had not yet made public remarks.
“It was too soon for him to make any comment,” Araghchi said in an interview broadcast by PBS. “We are all waiting for his speeches and comments, which will come later on.”
Araghchi also said negotiations with the United States were not being considered.
“I don’t think the question of talking with Americans or negotiation with Americans once again would be on the table, because we have a very bitter experience of talking with Americans,” he said.
Iranian leaders have continued to insist that the country will not accept a ceasefire despite sustained military strikes on its leadership and infrastructure.
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said Iran would continue fighting rather than seek a negotiated pause in hostilities.
“We are certainly not seeking a ceasefire; we believe that we must strike the aggressor in the mouth so that they learn a lesson and never think of aggression against our dear Iran again,” Qalibaf said in remarks reported by Tasnim News.
The United States has said the campaign is aimed at dismantling Iran’s military capabilities and neutralizing threats to regional security. Officials say the operation has already eliminated multiple senior figures within Iran’s leadership structure.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the conflict also led to the death of an Iranian official who had previously been involved in an alleged plot targeting Trump.
“We’ve known for a long time that Iran had intentions on trying to kill President Trump and/or other U.S. officials,” Hegseth said during remarks to reporters. “And while that was not the focus of the effort by any stretch of the imagination, in fact, never raised by the president or anybody else, I ensured, and others ensured, that those who were responsible for that were eventually part of the target list.”
“Iran tried to kill President Trump and President Trump got the last laugh,” Hegseth added.
Iran has previously issued threats against Trump following the January 2020 U.S. airstrike that killed Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani. During Soleimani’s funeral, a speaker urged supporters to raise an $80 million bounty for anyone who would carry out an assassination of the American president.
Trump addressed Iran’s latest warnings Monday night in a message posted on Truth Social, cautioning that the United States would respond forcefully if Iran attempted to disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a key global energy corridor.
In the statement, published on his account on Truth Social, Trump warned that Iran would face severe consequences if oil shipments were blocked.
“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. “Additionally, we will take out easily destroyable targets that will make it virtually impossible for Iran to ever be built back, as a Nation, again — Death, Fire, and Fury will reign upon them — But I hope, and pray, that it does not happen!”
Iranian officials, however, continue to maintain that the country will resist the military campaign and have dismissed claims that the operation has succeeded.
Araghchi said the campaign had failed to achieve its objectives despite the losses suffered by Iranian leadership.
“I believe that the option plan A was a failure, and now they are trying other plans, but all of them have failed as well,” he said. “And I don’t think they have any realistic endgame in their mind, because we are seeing some sort of a chaos thing.”
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