With tensions between Iran and the United States escalating, an influential Iranian individual has made a chilling remark that even former U.S. President Donald Trump is not secure—neither in his country nor even in his own personal Florida estate of Mar-a-Lago.
Javad Larijani, a prominent adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, made the controversial remark during a recent broadcast on Iranian state TV. Referring to Trump’s involvement in the 2020 assassination of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, Larijani implied that retribution could be imminent.
Trump has done something where he can no longer sunbathe at Mar-a-Lago. While there, lying on his stomach to the sun, a small drone could strike him in the belly. It's very easy," he said in a stark message to Washington.
His remarks coincide with the introduction of a chilling Internet campaign known as Blood Pact (or Ahde Khoun in Farsi), a fundraising site reportedly established to finance acts of revenge against individuals viewed as enemies of Iran's ruling elite. Up through July 8, the site reports collecting more than $27 million in donations.
The homepage of the site makes a very assertive promise to the effect that the raised money will be given to "anyone who can bring the enemies of God and the ones who pose a threat to the life of Ali Khamenei to justice."
The campaign has picked up within Iran, with Iranian state-associated media outlets such as the Fars News Agency providing coverage, thereby spurring participation within and among Iranians in diaspora.
Responding to a query asking him to react to Larijani's remark during an exchange with Fox News reporter Peter Doocy, Trump looked unperturbed but did take note of the threat.
"Yeah, I guess it's a threat. I don't know if it's a threat, actually — but maybe it is," Trump replied.
At a lighter moment, Doocy wanted to know, "When did you last go sunbathing?" and Trump responded with a chuckle, "A long time. Possibly when I was maybe 7. I'm not interested in it.
The comments follow growing volatility in the area, culminating in recent U.S. bombing raids against Iranian nuclear sites and fresh threats of Iranian reprisals.
While Trump has said that Tehran is eager to reinitiate diplomatic negotiations, Iranian government sources have made no such assurances. Indeed, President Masoud Pezeshkian has signaled that severe damage inflicted by the U.S. bombing has inhibited any possible developments in that regard.
US intelligence agencies have raised concerns in the past about Iranian plots against Trump, notably following the Soleimani operation, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) implicated in a number of attempted assassination plots.
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