A veteran powerbroker loyal to Iran’s slain Supreme Leader has ripped Trump’s ‘delusional fantasies’ and warned the US that he is not willing to negotiate.
Ali Larijani, a close ally of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, delivered the blunt message on Sunday after announcing the formation of a provisional governing structure within hours of the airstrike that killed the supreme leader.
Larijani accused the United States and Israel of seeking to ‘plunder and disintegrate’ Iran and warned so-called ‘secessionist groups’ within his country.
He delivered a direct rebuke to President Donald Trump and warned: ‘We will not negotiate.’
‘Trump plunged the region into chaos with his “delusional fantasies” and now fears more American troop casualties,’ Larijani wrote on X.
‘With his delusional actions, he turned his self-made “America First” slogan into “Israel First” and sacrificed American soldiers for Israel’s power-hungry ambitions.’
Larijani vowed that the Iranian regime would retaliate while claiming the US was the aggressor.
‘Today, the Iranian nation is defending itself. The armed forces of Iran did not initiate the aggression.’
JUST IN: 🇺🇸 Drone blows up U.S. ammunition storage the at air base in northern Iraq.
Iran likely used their highly effective Shahed drone. pic.twitter.com/I7lFKxeqRg
— Radar 𝘸 Archie🚨 (@RadarHits) March 1, 2026
Analysis-Khamenei killing shatters Iran’s order, triggers high-stakes succession race
DUBAI, March 1 (Reuters) – The assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has plunged the Islamic Republic into its most perilous crisis since the 1979 revolution – confronting it with war on its own territory, an unresolved succession, and mounting internal strain.
Despite the shock of Khamenei’s killing, five regional officials and analysts cautioned against assuming rapid collapse. Iran’s political order, they said, was deliberately constructed to avoid reliance on a single leader, dispersing authority across clerical institutions, the security apparatus and power networks.
“The Iranian system is bigger than one man – removing Khamenei could harden the regime rather than weaken it,” said Danny Citrinowicz of the Atlantic Council.
War widens as Israeli and US planes pound Iran and Tehran and its proxies hit back
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran and allied armed groups fired missiles at Israel, Arab states and U.S. military targets around the region on Monday, while Israel and the United States pounded Iran as the war expanded to several fronts. Kuwait mistakenly shot down three American warplanes over its skies.
The intensity of the attacks, the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the lack of any apparent exit plan indicated the conflict would not end anytime soon. It was already having far-reaching consequences: Safe havens in the Mideast like Dubai have seen incoming fire; hundreds of thousands of airline passengers are stranded around the globe; oil prices shot up; and U.S. allies pledged to help stop Iranian missiles and drones.
Iran has long threatened, if attacked, to drag the region into total war, including targeting Israel, the Gulf Arab states and the flow of crude oil crucial for global energy markets. All of these came under attack on Monday.
Saudi Aramco’s Ras Tanura refinery shut following drone strike from Tehran
The Ras Tanura complex houses one of the Middle East’s largest refineries with a capacity of 550,000 barrels per day and serves as a critical export terminal for Saudi crude oil.
Saudi Arabia’s state oil giant Aramco shut its Ras Tanura refinery following a drone strike, an industry source said on Monday, after Tehran launched strikes across the region in response to the US-Israeli attack on Iran.
Starmer Faces Dilemma as British Base in Cyprus Hit by Drone
Prime Minister Keir Starmer risks being dragged deeper into the conflict, after allowing the U.S. military to use British bases for “defensive” purposes.
Russians threaten horror strikes on Europe in revenge for Iran – ‘Trump untied our hands’
Russian propagandists have threatened to carry out a horror strike on Europe in response to Iran’s missile attack, as the experts blamed Donald Trump for “unwittingly creating political and psychological opportunities.” On Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed condolences over the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The Russian President called the act “a murder committed in cynical violation of all norms of human morality and international law”. Speaking about Russia’s next move, Sergey Karnaukhov, a former president and CEO of The Centre for the National Interest, and Dimitri Simes, a former president and CEO of The Centre for the National Interest, highlighted what needs to be done as he blames Europe for “waging war” against Russia.
Israel Strikes Hezbollah in Lebanon as War With Iran Escalates
The explosions outside Beirut ended a yearlong cease-fire and threatened to expand the conflict. In an interview with The New York Times, President Trump said the U.S. plans to keep up the assault on Iran for “four or five weeks.”