A senior Iranian official made a thinly veiled threat against President Donald Trump’s life on Tuesday as the US continued to pound Iran with bombs.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth promised the “most intense” day of strikes yet, just a day after Trump vowed to rain down “death, fire and fury” on the Islamic Republic.
“The sacrificial nation of Iran doesn’t fear your empty threats,” security chief Ali Larijani wrote in a defiant post on X on Tuesday in response to Trump’s Truth Social post.
“Even those bigger than you couldn’t eliminate Iran. Be careful not to get eliminated yourself.”
The war of words came as Iran continued to strike countries across the Gulf, with Bahrain reporting its first death – that of a 29-year-old woman – as a result of the ongoing conflict.
At least 12 people have been killed across the oil-rich nations, the vast majority of them migrant workers, according to the New York Times.
Doubts have emerged over the war’s duration after Mr Trump said the war would be a “short-term excursion” that would be over “very soon” in a statement to press on Monday.
Mr Hegseth said the war would be ended on “our timeline and at our choosing” as global supply chains reeled from surging oil prices. Energy markets have been plunged into chaos due to paralysed shipping routes in the Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran has threatened to fully close.
Mr Hegseth said that more fighter jets and bombers were being deployed to pound Iran as other experts have warned that the Islamic Republic could be playing a “war of attrition”, exhausting expensive US weaponry before using its better gear.
Downing Street said this afternoon that Britain was working with allies on a range of options to support commercial shipping, as the ministry of defence said a second ship was being prepared for possible deployment.
British warship, the HMS Dragon, a Type 45 Destroyer, left Portsmouth naval base on Tuesday afternoon headed for the Eastern Mediterranean.
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi signalled that Iran was no closer to backing down under US-Israeli pressure, telling PBS: “We are well prepared to continue attacking them with our missiles as long as needed and as long as it takes.”
It comes as new reports suggested that the US are considering taking over Kharg Island, a small 7.7 square mile piece of land that is home to 94 per cent of Iran’s oil exports and its main oil export terminal.
US administration officials said that discussions on seizing the key island have taken place, according to Axios.
Reports also suggested that Iran could activate “sleeper cells” to carry out attacks across the globe.
The US is reported to have intercepted encrypted communications believed to have originated in Iran that were sent out following the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a US-Israeli attack on February 28, ABC News reported, citing a federal alert sent to law enforcement agencies.
