Trump warns Iran against hitting ‘very hard’ after Khamenei killing confirmed

US President Donald Trump warned Iran on Sunday against a “very hard” response after Iranian state media confirmed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in joint US-Israeli attacks launched a day before, Anadolu reports.

“Iran just stated that they are going to hit very hard today, harder than they have ever hit before,” Trump said on Truth Social.

“They better not do that, however, because if they do, we will hit them with a force that has never been seen before,” he added.

Starting Saturday morning, Israel and the US have carried out strikes on multiple Iranian cities, killing the supreme leader and many other top security officials.

Israel said the operation was meant to remove the “existential threat” while Trump announced “major combat operations” against the Iranian “regime.”

Iran, in response, launched drone and missile attacks on Israel and US assets in the region that prompted many Gulf states to shut their airspace.

Iranian authorities pledged a revenge after confirmation of Khamenei’s death, declared a 40-day mourning period and an interim council was named until a successor is chosen.

READ: Iranian state TV says Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei killed in US-Israeli attacks