Iranian senior clerics issue fatwas over threats against Ayatollah Khamenei

Trump accused supreme leader of ingratitude after claiming he saved him from 'a very ugly and ignominious death'

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said his country had delivered 'a heavy slap to the face of the US'. Reuters

Senior Shiite clerics in Iran have issued fatwas declaring that “any individual or regime” threatening the Islamic republic’s leadership and religious authority is guilty of “moharebeh” − a term in Sharia that means waging war against God.

The fatwas came in response to a formal religious inquiry following recent threats by US President Donald Trump and Israeli officials against Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iranian state media reported.

Mr Trump said on his Truth Social platform on Friday that he had saved the Iranian leader from assassination, and accused Mr Khamenei of ingratitude.

“I knew exactly where he was sheltered, and would not let Israel, or the US Armed Forces, by far the greatest and most powerful in the world, terminate his life,” Mr Trump posted.

“I saved him from a very ugly and ignominious death, and he does not have to say, 'thank you President Trump'.”

Mr Trump also said that he had been working on the possible removal of sanctions against Iran − one of Tehran's main demands − but had halted this.

“But no, instead I get hit with a statement of anger, hatred, and disgust, and immediately dropped all work on sanction relief, and more,” Mr Trump added. He urged Iran to return to the negotiating table.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel had wanted to assassinate Mr Khamenei during the 12-day war with Iran. “If he had been in our sights, we would have taken him out,” Mr Katz told Channel 13 in an interview broadcast last Thursday. He said Israeli forces had searched for Mr Khamenei, but no chance to kill him presented itself.

In a statement released on Sunday by his office, Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi, one of Iran’s most senior Shiite clerics, urged Muslims around the world to take a firm stance against such threats, stating that those who endure hardship or loss in countering them will be deemed mujahid – a fighter in the path of God.

“Any person or regime that threatens or assaults the leadership and religious authority of the Islamic Ummah is considered a mohareb,” the statement read.

“Any form of co-operation or support for such entities by Muslims or Islamic governments is forbidden.”

Another Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Nouri Hamedani, said that any threat or assault on Mr Khamenei and the religious authority is “considered an insult to the essence of Islam and carries the ruling of moharebeh”.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday condemned the “disrespectful and unacceptable” comments from the US President.

“If President Trump is genuine about wanting a deal, he should put aside the disrespectful and unacceptable tone towards Iran's supreme leader, Grand Ayatollah Khamenei, and stop hurting his millions of heartfelt supporters,” Mr Araghchi posted on X.

The Iranian Foreign Minister also appeared to mock Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte, who at a summit of the western military alliance last week praised Mr Trump for the US intervention in the Israel-Iran conflict and referred to him as “Daddy”.

“The great and powerful Iranian people, who showed the world that the Israeli regime had no choice but to run to 'Daddy' to avoid being flattened by our missiles, do not take kindly to threats and insults,” Mr Araghchi said.

Mr Khamenei said on Thursday the US had “achieved nothing” after it joined the war to support Israel, and that Tehran had delivered “a heavy slap to the US’s face”.

In response, a day later, Mr Trump told Mr Khamenei: “Look, you’re a man of great faith. A man who’s highly respected in his country. You have to tell the truth. You got beat to hell.”