‘Beware lest you be the ones to vanish’: Iran's Larijani hits back after Trump threat
Ali Larijani, the head of the Iranian National Security Council, has issued a strong warning to Donald Trump, after the US president threatened “death, fire and fury” on Iran.
Trump posted on Truth Social late on Monday, threatening to strike Iran hard if it continued to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed.
“They will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far,” he wrote.
Trump said the US would take out targets that would “make it virtually impossible for Iran to ever be built back, as a Nation, again”.
“Death, Fire, and Fury will reign upon them – But I hope, and pray, that it does not happen!” he said, adding that it would be a gift to China and nations dependent on the strait.
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Larijani responded on X, in both Persian and Arabic.
He wrote: “The Ashura-loving Iranian people do not fear your hollow threats; for those greater than you have failed to erase it…
“So beware lest you be the ones to vanish.”
He later added on X: “Strait of Hormuz will either be a Strait of peace and prosperity for all or will be a Strait of defeat and suffering for warmongers.”
Larijani posted the statement in Persian, English, Russian, Arabic, French and Chinese.
The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow maritime channel, around 33km at its narrowest point, between the Musandam peninsula in Oman and Iran.
It is described as the most significant oil chokepoint in the world, with around a fifth of global oil output passing through it, and a third of global liquified natural gas (LNG).
Roughly 20 million barrels of oil pass through the strait every day, of which around 14 million barrels are crude oil and six million are petroleum products.
Much of Asia receives gas and oil from hydrocarbon-rich countries in the Gulf via the strait.
South Korea receives around 70 percent of its crude oil from the Middle East, while Japan imports around 90 percent from the region, and India around 50 percent.
Asian market indices tumbled on Monday, largely driven by the closure of the waterway.
Larijani reiterated on Monday that the strait would continue to be closed by Iran if the US and Israel continued their attacks on the country.
Responding to a news post on X about France sending two frigates to the Red Sea to reopen the waterway, the security chief said: “It is unlikely that any security can be achieved in the Strait of Hormuz amid the fires ignited by the United States and Israel in the region.
“Especially if that is by the design of parties that were not far removed from supporting this war and contributing to its fanning,” he added.
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