Iranian cleric issues fatwa calling for Trump’s killing after escalation with US

Iranian cleric issues deadly fatwa against Trump

A senior Iranian cleric has issued a religious decree calling for the killing of US President Donald Trump, dramatically escalating rhetoric as the confrontation between Iran and the United States deepens.

Grand Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi-Amoli, one of Iran’s most influential Shia religious authorities, declared in a public statement that shedding Trump’s blood is a religious obligation for devout Shia Muslims. The statement also referred to “Zionists,” reflecting Tehran’s accusation that Israel was directly involved in the recent military strikes against Iran.

The decree follows a sharp escalation in the conflict after US and Israeli forces launched coordinated airstrikes across Iran earlier this week. Iranian authorities say the strikes killed the country’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, a claim that has dramatically intensified tensions across the region. Iranian officials have described the operation as an act of war and vowed retaliation against both the United States and Israel.

Iran responded quickly after the strikes. The country’s military launched missiles and drone attacks targeting American military bases across the Middle East, according to regional defence officials. Explosions were reported near US installations in Iraq and Syria, and American forces in several countries have moved to heightened alert.

The fatwa issued by Javadi-Amoli represents one of the most direct religious calls for violence against a sitting American president in decades. In Iran’s clerical system, a fatwa is a religious ruling issued by a senior scholar that can carry moral authority among followers. While such decrees do not function as formal state orders, they often reflect the broader political mood within Iran’s leadership and religious establishment.

Security analysts say the statement is likely intended as both a symbolic response to the killing of Iran’s leadership and a warning that the conflict could expand beyond conventional military operations. The rhetoric also signals how deeply the crisis has entered Iran’s religious and ideological sphere.

The United States has not publicly responded to the cleric’s statement. However, American security agencies typically treat such declarations seriously, especially when they come from senior figures within Iran’s religious hierarchy.

The exchange of military strikes and increasingly hostile rhetoric has pushed the US-Iran confrontation into one of its most dangerous phases in years. With missile attacks continuing and regional forces mobilising across the Middle East, diplomats warn that the situation could spiral into a broader war if further escalation occurs.