Fatwas have been issued by Iran’s senior clerics calling for the assassination of U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, declaring them enemies of Islam. The death warrants, released on June 29 and 30 by Grand Ayatollahs Nasser Makarem Shirazi and Hossein Nouri Hamedani, also greenlight brutal crackdowns on dissidents inside Iran.
Shirazi, closely tied to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, falsely accused Trump of plotting to kill Khamenei, labeling him mohareb, or “enemy of Allah.” He declared, “It is upon all Muslims across the world to make these enemies regret their words and their wrongdoing.” Anyone who assassinates Trump or Netanyahu would be rewarded as a “warrior of Allah,” according to an English translation by the National Union for Democracy in Iran (NUFDI).
The second fatwa from Hamedani threatens death for any collaboration with the United States or Israel. Experts say these clerics are offering Khamenei plausible deniability while still targeting dissidents. “The two clerics have instead laid the ground for security forces to lash out against innocent Iranians,” said NUFDI analyst Khosro Isfahani.
These fatwas authorize extreme punishments, including “death, crucifixion, cutting off their hands and feet on opposite sides, or exile from the land.” The rhetoric mirrors the infamous 1988 fatwa that led to mass executions of political prisoners.
President Trump responded, stating, “I saved him from a very ugly and ignominious death.” He added that Iran’s threats caused him to end negotiations on sanctions relief: “Instead I get hit with a statement of anger, hatred, and disgust.”
