U.S President Donald Trump on Friday issued a stern warning to Iran, vowing to resume airstrikes if there is any indication the country is reviving its nuclear weapons program.
The statement came as Iran prepared to hold a state funeral for 60 top nuclear scientists and military commanders killed during a 12-day Israeli bombing campaign that began on June 13.
In a fiery post on his Truth Social platform, Trump claimed he had personally spared Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei from assassination and blasted the cleric for what he called “ingratitude.”
“I knew EXACTLY where he was sheltered, and would not let Israel, or the U.S. Armed Forces, by far the Greatest and Most Powerful in the World, terminate his life,” Trump wrote.
“I SAVED HIM FROM A VERY UGLY AND IGNOMINIOUS DEATH, and he does not have to say, ‘THANK YOU, PRESIDENT TRUMP!’”
Trump also criticized Iran for declaring victory over Israel, adding that he had halted discussions on sanctions relief in response to Khamenei’s defiant tone.
“But no, instead I get hit with a statement of anger, hatred, and disgust, and immediately dropped all work on sanction relief, and more,” he posted, urging Iran to return to negotiations.
Tehran, however, has denied that any new nuclear talks are scheduled, contradicting Trump’s claim that dialogue was set to resume next week.
The funeral for the 60 victims which includes top Revolutionary Guards commanders, scientists, four women, and four children will begin Saturday morning in Tehran.
The ceremony starts at Enghelab Square, followed by a procession to Azadi Square.
One of the most prominent figures to be buried is Revolutionary Guards commander Hossein Salami, killed on the first day of the Israeli strikes.
Also among the dead are armed forces chief of staff General Mohammad Bagheri, his wife, and journalist daughter, all killed in a single Israeli airstrike.
According to Iranian authorities, at least 627 civilians were killed in the Israeli campaign, many of them targeted in their homes.
In response, Iran launched retaliatory drone and missile attacks that killed 28 people in Israel, based on official Israeli figures.
The fallout between Washington and Tehran escalated further after Khamenei addressed the nation in a televised speech, his first appearance since the ceasefire took effect.
“The American president exaggerated events in unusual ways, and it turned out that he needed this exaggeration,” Khamenei said, while declaring Iran’s response to U.S. and Israeli aggression a “victory.”
In a White House press briefing, Trump doubled down on his threat to resume military action if Iran resumed any nuclear enrichment activity.
“Sure. Without question. Absolutely,” he said, when asked about the possibility of further strikes.
“Khamenei and Iran got beat to hell.”
Meanwhile, Iran rejected a request from Rafael Grossi, head of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), to inspect sites hit during the U.S.-Israel bombardment.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi publicly criticized Grossi for failing to condemn the strikes, accusing him of an “astounding betrayal of his duties” in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
The U.S. airstrikes, Trump claimed, had “totally obliterated” Iran’s key nuclear facilities, including the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, according to satellite imagery released by Maxar Technologies.
While a tenuous truce continues to hold between Israel and Iran, regional tensions remain dangerously high.
Tehran is still grappling with the scale of destruction from its first direct confrontation with a foreign military on home soil since the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s.
