Israel-Iran conflict: Ayatollah says ‘battle begins’ after Trump’s warning

Iran’s Supreme Leader has threatened Israel after US President Donald Trump said the US would spare him from assassination “for now.” Follow updates.

Iran’s Supreme Leader has declared “the battle begins” in his first public statement since US President Donald Trump said the US would spare him from assassination “for now.”

In a chilling post on X, which featured an image of a man holding a sword entering a castle-like gate, with fiery streaks in the sky, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wrote “Ali returns to Khaybar”.

The statement is a reference to the first imam of Shia Islam and his conquest of the Jewish fortress of Khaybar in the 7th century, Iran International reported.

It came after Donald Trump issued a threat to Khamenei, saying the US knows where he is and won’t “take him out” – yet, as Israel and Iran continued to trade deadly fire for a fifth day in their most intense confrontation in history.

In a post on Truth Social, Mr Trump wrote: “We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding.”

“He is an easy target, but is safe there – we are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now,” Mr Trump said.

“But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

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Originally published as Israel-Iran conflict: Ayatollah says ‘battle begins’ after Trump’s warning