Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has issued a fresh warning to the country's enemies after the death of security chief, Ali Larijani.
The news broke on Tuesday (17 March) that Larijani, who was secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, had been killed in Israeli air strikes.
As reported by the BBC, the head of the paramilitary Basij force, Gholamreza Soleimani, also died.
Israel's Defence Minister, Israel Katz, confirmed at the time: "Larijani and the Basij commander were eliminated last night and have joined Khamenei, the head of the annihilation programme, along with all those eliminated from the Axis of Evil in the depths of hell."
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Since the first missiles were launched on 28 February, over 2,000 people have been killed in the Middle East, with the vast majority hailing from Iran. 13 military personnel from the US have also been killed.
Rumours have also been swirling that Mojtaba himself has died or was 'heavily disfigured'; however, he has now issued a statement eerily warning enemies that 'every drop of blood has its price'.
His father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in airstrikes from the US and Israel at the start of the conflict.
As reported by The Express, Mojtaba said in a statement on Wednesday (18 March): "It is with great sorrow that I received the painful news of the martyrdom of Mr. Dr. Ali Larijani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and the Leader's representative on that council, as well as his distinguished son and some of his colleagues."
Paying tribute, he described the official as a 'learned, far-sighted, intelligent, and committed individual with diverse experiences in various political, military, security, cultural, and managerial arenas'.
Then, he issued a stark warning to enemies, declaring: "The enemies of Islam should know that shedding this blood only makes the mighty tree of the Islamic system stronger, and of course, every drop of blood has its price, which the murderous killers of these martyrs will soon have to pay."
Now, on the 20th day of the war, it comes as US President Donald Trump has threatened to 'massively blow up' the entire South Pars gas field if Iran carries out any more retaliatory attacks on Qatar’s liquefied natural gas facilities.
As outlined by The Guardian, Israel’s decision to target the gasfield on Wednesday marked a major escalation of the conflict.
However, Trump claims the US knew nothing about it, in a Truth Social post shared afterwards.
The Republican leader wrote: "Israel, out of anger for what has taken place in the Middle East, has violently lashed out at a major facility known as South Pars Gas Field in Iran. A relatively small section of the whole has been hit.
"The United States knew nothing about this particular attack, and the country of Qatar was in no way, shape, or form, involved with it, nor did it have any idea that it was going to happen."
He added: "Unfortunately, Iran did not know this, or any of the pertinent facts pertaining to the South Pars attack, and unjustifiably and unfairly attacked a portion of Qatar’s LNG Gas facility.
"NO MORE ATTACKS WILL BE MADE BY ISRAEL pertaining to this extremely important and valuable South Pars Field unless Iran unwisely decides to attack a very innocent, in this case, Qatar - In which instance the United States of America, with or without the help or consent of Israel, will massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field at an amount of strength and power that Iran has never seen or witnessed before.
"I do not want to authorize this level of violence and destruction because of the long-term implications that it will have on the future of Iran, but if Qatar’s LNG is again attacked, I will not hesitate to do so."
Topics: Iran, Israel, Donald Trump, News, World News, Politics
Madison Burgess