Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader, has strongly criticized former US President Donald Trump’s call for Iran to surrender. Khamenei suggested that such a demand was unrealistic.
“The US President stated, ‘Iran must surrender.’ Needless to say, this statement is too big to come out of the US president’s mouth,” Khamenei wrote on X.
The remarks follow the US bombing of three Iranian nuclear facilities. Khamenei declared that Iran had won and rejected Trump’s assertions that the strikes were a major military win. Khamenei said the US entered the conflict to try to save the “Zionist regime.” However, the US did not meet its goals, according to Khamenei. Trump has said the strikes had dealt a major blow to Iran’s nuclear program.
Trump, via Truth Social, demanded “Unconditional surrender” and threatened further action if a peace agreement was not met. Trump declared that Iran faced a choice between peace and a greater tragedy. He underscored that further targets were at risk if peace negotiations failed.