A close aide to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned of swift retaliation against the United States following its airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. The threat, published in Iran’s hardline Kayhan newspaper, comes amid surging tensions in the Middle East.
Hossein Shariatmadari, managing editor of Kayhan and a longtime confidant of Khamenei, called for an immediate missile strike on the US naval fleet stationed in Bahrain and the closure of the strategic Strait of Hormuz to Western vessels. “It is now our turn to act without delay,” he wrote, suggesting coordinated retaliation against American, British, German, and French maritime interests in the region.
The US carried out strikes on Saturday targeting Iran’s key nuclear sites—Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan—following heightened hostilities between Israel and Iran. President Donald Trump called the attacks a “spectacular military success” and warned of even greater strikes if Iran does not “seek peace.”
While Khamenei has not yet issued a direct response to the US strikes, his official Telegram account reposted a video from an earlier speech in which he warned the US against entering the Iran-Israel conflict. “The damage it will suffer will be far greater than any harm Iran will encounter,” Khamenei stated.
Iran’s leadership has consistently framed the US involvement as a grave escalation, with officials cautioning that Tehran’s response will be “decisive and unavoidable.” The potential closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for global oil shipments, could have significant geopolitical and economic ramifications.
With calls for military retaliation growing louder within Tehran’s political circles, the region remains on edge, awaiting the next move in a rapidly evolving conflict.
