An influential Iranian Shiite cleric has called a fatwa—a formal religious edict—on U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling them "enemies of God."
Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi called on Muslims everywhere to unite in rejecting the two leaders, whom he alleged were plotting against the Islamic Republic's regime.
Makarem, according to Mehr News Agency, said in his verdict, "Any individual or government who endangers the Leader or Marja (God forbid) is a 'warlord' or a 'mohareb'." A "mohareb," in Iranian jurisprudence, is a person who fights against God—a crime punishable by very harsh punishments such as execution, amputation, crucifixion, or exile under Iranian law, Fox News reported.
The fatwa additionally underlined that support or cooperation of any sort by Muslims or Muslim countries with these individuals is absolutely "haram"—religiously prohibited. "It is essential for all the Muslims of the world to make these enemies wish they had not uttered these words and made these mistakes," the decree read.
It further stated that Muslims who act according to their religious obligations and incur losses or suffer difficulties in the process "will be rewarded as a fighter in the way of God, God willing."
This decree is in the aftermath of a recent and fierce struggle that started on June 13, when Israeli airstrikes targeted prominent Iranian military commanders and nuclear scientists. Iran retaliated by launching ballistic missiles at Israeli cities. Israel had defended its military moves by saying that it was stopping Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons, a claim that the Iranian government has consistently rejected.
The conflicts increased when the United States entered Israeli troops in attacking three Iranian nuclear facilities. Iran retaliated with missile attacks on an American military base in Qatar.
A fatwa is a religious decree based on Islamic jurisprudence and is one that has been issued by a Marja—a high-ranking religious figure in Twelver Shiite Islam. It is to be followed not only by people but also by Islamic governments and institutions.
This is not the first time Iranian clerics have employed a fatwa as a call to action against a person. Perhaps the most famous example is when Iran's former Supreme Leader issued a fatwa calling for author Salman Rushdie's death in 1989 after the release of his novel The Satanic Verses, which many in the Muslim world considered blasphemous. The fatwa followed a chain of violent attacks, including the murder of a Japanese translator and assaults on publishers linked to the book.
Rushdie has been the victim of multiple assassination plots throughout his life, including a 2023 stabbing in New York that left him with permanent blindness in one eye.
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