Mohammed Reza Naqdi, IRGC Deputy Commander For Coordination: 'If Any Grand Ayatollah Is Harmed, No American Will Leave The Region Alive'
Naqdi referred to statements by Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the supreme Shi'ite authority and director of the Howza Al-Ilmiyya seminary in Najaf, Iraq, where he lives. Sistani had said on June 19, 2025 that any threat of assassination against the supreme religious and political leadership of Iran would have serious consequences for the entire region, including total loss of control and extensive chaos. This, Sistani said, would increase the suffering of the peoples of the region and gravely endanger the interests of all.[1]
However, it is important to note that Sistani's statements were not a fatwa, which is binding, and also that they included no mention of either President Trump or the U.S. Senior Iranian officials are choosing to harness Sistani's words for their own purposes, as if he had indeed issued a fatwa. This is apparently so that Shi'ites in Iraq or elsewhere will take action against Americans in Iraq and the rest of the Middle East – as Iranian officials refrain from mentioning the fatwas against Trump issued by senior Iranian grand ayatollahs.[2]
Naqdi (Source: Sepahnews, Iran, June 28m ,2025)
It must also be clarified that neither President Trump nor any other American official has ever issued a direct threat to Shi'ite grand ayatollahs or against Khamenei, as Iran's supreme leader – that is, against neither religious nor political figures. Trump himself has said that he prevented an initiative to assassinate Khamenei.
Also notable is that as of late June, Iranian ayatollahs and senior officials have issued fatwas stating that Trump's punishment is the same as that for a muhareb – an enemy of God and Islam who must be put to death.[3]
The following are translated excerpts of Naqdi's statements in his June 28, 2025 interview:
Saying that "Ayatollah Sistani published a statement in response to [Trump's] threats," Naqdi called President Trump "stupid and moronic," and said: "Because of his idiocy, Donald Trump has not grasped the meaning of the message of Grand Ayatollah Sistani, and he [Trump] has continued to reiterate his moronic threats."
"I am conveying to him the exact meaning of this [Sistani's] message: Oh Donald Trump, hear and understand this: If any harm, even the smallest, comes to one of the Shi'ite grand juristprudents [ayatollahs], whether [the attempt] is successful or not, no American representative will leave the region alive, and all the [American] diplomats, military personnel, officials, and oil workers will be captured if they are not killed. A repeat of these moronic threats, even if they are not accompanied by [actual] deeds, will not go unanswered. Shut your mouth and sit down in your place, you rude person."[4]
To view more excerpts from Naqdi's interview on MEMRI TV, click here or below:
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