‘America first or Israel first’: Iranian President Ali Larijani accuses Trump of dragging US into ‘unfair war’

Iran’s top security official Ali Larijani accused US President Donald Trump of dragging Americans into what he called an “unfair war” with Iran and declared that Tehran would not negotiate with Washington amid an escalation in the conflict.Larijani, chairman of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, made the remarks after the United States and Israel launched violent attacks on Iranian targets over the weekend. The confrontation sharply escalated tensions in the region. In the same post, Larijani warned that Iran would retaliate following reports of the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and vowed that there would be a “heavy price” for his death.“Mr. Trump, with Netanyahu’s antics, has dragged the American people into an unfair war with Iran. Now let him do the math: with over 500 US troops killed[in the past few days]is this still ‘America first’ or ‘Israel first’? The saga continues. The martyrdom of Imam Khamenei will cost you dearly. God willing,” he said in a post on X. The latest exchanges come after a wave of attacks by U.S. and Israeli forces on Iranian facilities, escalating hostilities as nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington stalled. Larijani accused Trump of destabilizing West Asia, saying the U.S. president’s actions had plunged the region into chaos and put U.S. troops at risk. Since then, the conflict has expanded. Iran launched new strikes against Israeli and US military bases in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Tehran also blocked the strategic Strait of Hormuz, sending global oil prices soaring. The U.S. military has confirmed that six U.S. personnel have been killed so far. Iran’s Red Crescent said at least 787 people were killed in U.S. and Israeli attacks, while Israel reported a death toll of 11.