Washington/Tehran, March 8 (UNI) US President Donald Trump has dismissed the threats given by Iran’s top official Ali Larjiani since the killing of the Iranian leadership, stating that he was unconcerned by the Iranian official’s warnings and was currently focused on the military campaign.
In a telephonic interview with CBS News late on Saturday, Trump brushed aside remarks made earlier by Ali Larijani, who had said the US president must “pay the price” for the attacks, calling his rhetoric weak.
Triumph vowed to fight on until Iran concedes to the US demands for “unconditional surrender,” something which Tehran has rubbished as a “dream” that the US leader should “take to his grave.”
Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, a close aide of the late supreme leader Ali Khamenei, has emerged as one of the country’s most prominent political figures following Khamenei’s killing.
Despite wielding massive authority, and enjoying popular support, Larijani himself is not a candidate for the position of supreme leader, but is currently serving as the virtual head of the interim government.
“I have no idea what he’s talking about, who he is. I couldn’t care less,” Trump said in the interview, adding that Larijani had “already been defeated”.
Trump also rejected a series of statements issued by Iranian leaders in recent days, calling their rhetoric weak and insisting Washington’s campaign would continue until Tehran accepted what he called an “unconditional surrender”.
Earlier on Saturday, Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian released a video message addressing neighbouring countries in the Gulf, apologising for Iranian retaliatory strikes against Israel and US bases in the region, stating that Tehran would avoid attacking other Persian Gulf states unless it came under direct attack.
However, hours later, Iran targeted installations in the Gulf, with Pezeshkian later reversing the tone of the message, stating that Tehran was not targeting neighbouring countries, but only the US military bases and installations across the region.
“We have not attacked our friendly and neighbouring countries. Rather, we have targeted US military bases, facilities, and installations in the region,” he wrote.
Speaking later to CBS News, Trump dismissed Larijani as a weakened figure and claimed that the current leadership in Tehran had already conceded ground across the Middle East.
“He intended to take over the Middle East and he’s conceded and surrendered to all of those countries because of me,” Trump said. “He’s already surrendered to all of the Middle Eastern countries because he was trying to take over the entire Middle East.”
Following the death of Khamenei along with several other senior officials of Iran’s central leadership, the Islamic Republic has been restructuring its leadership base, realigning its focus on dealing with wartime requirements.
Alongside Larijani, an interim three-member governing council that includes Pezeshkian has taken on a central role in managing state affairs during the crisis.
Voicing strong confidence in the US military’s ongoing campaign, Trump claimed that US forces had managed to severely degrade Iran’s military capabilities, remarking that he would continue expanding air strikes inside the country.
“It’s been incredible, the job we’ve done,” he said. “The missiles are blown to smithereens. The drones are blown. The factories are being blown up as we speak. The navy is gone, it’s at the bottom of the sea.”
The United States Central Command said on Friday that at least 43 Iranian naval vessels had been damaged or destroyed in US strikes and that more than 3,000 targets had been hit since the conflict began.
“We’re winning at levels never seen before and quickly,” Trump claimed.
Regarding whether Washington expected greater military involvement from its allies, the president said he was primarily focused on American operations and on those countries that had already supported Washington’s approach.
“I couldn’t care less. They can do whatever they want. The loyal ones are already in,” he said.
His comments came hours after he wrote on Truth Social that the UK had prepared two aircraft carriers for possible deployment to the region, though the US president seemed more miffed about it than appreciative.
Rebuking the move, Trump said that it has come too late and was of little use now, criticising British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for the lethargic deployment and the many delays in authorising the use of British bases in the Middle East during the early stages of the campaign.
“It’s a little bit late to be sending ships, right? A little bit late,” he said.
