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There is, at this stage, no public evidence that Larijani’s latest words were tied to a specific operational plot. But in light of the previous U.S. intelligence warnings, the criminal prosecutions tied to alleged Iran-backed schemes, and the sharp military escalation now under way, the remark is likely to be taken seriously in Washington. What might once have been dismissed as familiar hostile rhetoric now lands in an environment shaped by active war, a leadership vacuum in Tehran, disrupted oil routes and a documented history of alleged threats against Trump linked to Iran’s security apparatus.
The result is that a single sentence from Tehran has become part of a much larger and more dangerous confrontation. Trump has threatened to hit Iran with devastating force if it escalates further in the Gulf. Iran’s top security official has warned Trump not to be “eliminated.” Between those two messages lies a war that is already widening, a global energy market on edge, and a history of vengeance that has haunted U.S.-Iran relations ever since Soleimani was killed.
