Trump Warns Iran 'Better Not' Retaliate After Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei Killed By US And Israel

Donald Trump has warned Iran against launching retaliatory strikes after the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in an attack by the US and Israel.

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in the early hours of Sunday that the 86-year-old dictator had died, and said it would launch its “most-intense offensive operation” against American and Israeli targets in response.

But in a post on Truth Social on Sunday morning, Trump said: “Iran just stated that they are going to hit very hard today, harder than they have ever hit before. THEY BETTER NOT DO THAT, HOWEVER, BECAUSE IF THEY DO, WE WILL HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE!”

Hours earlier, Trump announced Khamenei’s death in another Truth Social post and urged the Iranian people to seize “the single greatest chance … to take back their country”.

The US and Israel described Saturday’s attacks on Iran as a “pre-emptive” strike against a Tehran government intent on developing nuclear weapons.

It retaliation from Iran, with strikes reported in several Gulf countries including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Hundreds of thousands of British nationals are believed to be present in the Gulf, and those in Bahrain, Israel, Palestine, Qatar and the UAE have been urged to register their presence with the Foreign Office.

In a statement from Downing Street on Saturday, Keir Starmer “played no role” in the strikes on Iran.

“But we have long been clear – the regime in Iran is utterly abhorrent,” he added.

“They have murdered thousands of their own people, brutally crushed dissent, and sought to destabilise the region.”

The PM said Iran had “backed more than 20 potentially lethal attacks on UK soil” in the last year alone.

Starmer said Iran “must never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon” and called for the resumption of diplomatic efforts to prevent that from happening.

He said: “Iran can end this now. They should refrain from further strikes, give up their weapons programmes, and cease the appalling violence and repression against the Iranian people – who deserve the right to determine their own future, in line with our longstanding position. 

“That is the route to de-escalation and back to the negotiating table.”