“Iran is not afraid of your empty threats. Even those greater than you could not eliminate the Iranian nation,” said Larijani in a post on X.
His remarks came in response to a post by Trump threatening to hit Iran harder if it stops the oil flow through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
“Take care of yourself not to be eliminated!” Larijani added.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump had said “if Iran does anything that stops the flow of Oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit by us thus far.”
On February 28, the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran that killed its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and triggered a war that has spread across the Middle East.
Iran has responded with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel and countries across the region.
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, through which nearly 20 percent of the world’s crude oil usually transits, has been severely disrupted.
Iranian forces have threatened to block “the export of a single liter of oil from the region” to allies of the United States and Israel as long as the war continues.
US President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to escalate the war with Iran if it blocked oil shipments from the Middle East, even as he predicted a quick end to the conflict.
Trump’s warning came at the end of a day that saw global financial markets seesawing on concerns that Iran’s security establishment was rallying behind new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and was not prepared to back down any time soon.
Trump said the United States had inflicted serious damage on Iran’s air force and navy and predicted the conflict would end well before the initial four-week time frame he had laid out, though he has not defined what victory would look like.
He warned that US attacks could rise sharply if Iran sought to block tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which handles one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.
“We will hit them so hard that it will not be possible for them or anybody else helping them to ever recover that section of the world,” Trump said at a news conference.
In response, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said it would not allow “one liter of oil” to leave the region if attacks from the United States and Israel continue.
“We are the ones who will determine the end of the war,” a spokesperson said, according to state media.
The conflicting signals sent markets on a rollercoaster, with oil prices surging and stock markets nosediving before swinging in the other direction after Trump’s prediction of a quick end to the war and reports of a possible ease in sanctions on Russian energy.
Khamenei, 56, a Shiite cleric with a power base among the security forces and their vast business empire, has been declared unacceptable by Trump, who has demanded Iran’s unconditional surrender.
Iranian state media showed large crowds in several cities rallying behind the new leader, waving Iranian flags and holding portraits of his father Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader killed by an Israeli strike on the war’s first day.
In Isfahan, state TV reported the sound of nearby explosions from apparent airstrikes as loyalists gathered in the historic Imam Square, chanting “God is the Greatest” below a stage with portraits of Ali and Mojtaba Khamenei.
Iranians reached by telephone were divided, with supporters of the authorities hailing the choice and opponents fearful it would dash their hopes for change.
“It was a slap in the face to our enemies that thought the system will collapse with the killing of his father. Our late leader’s path will continue,” said university student Zahra Mirbagheri, 21, from Tehran.
Many Iranians had initially celebrated the elder Khamenei’s death, weeks after his security forces killed thousands of anti-government protesters in the worst domestic unrest since the era of Iran’s 1979 revolution. But there has since been little sign of anti-government activity.
“The (elite Revolutionary) Guards and the system are still powerful. They have tens of thousands of forces ready to fight to keep this regime in place. We, the people, have nothing,” said Babak, 34, a businessman in the central city of Arak who asked to keep his family name confidential.
Israel says its war aim is to overthrow Iran’s system of clerical rule. US officials mainly say Washington’s aim is to destroy Iran’s missile capabilities and nuclear program, but Trump has said the war can end only with a compliant Iranian government.
Israel had said it would kill whoever succeeded the elder Khamenei unless Iran ended its hostile policies.
The war has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for global oil and liquefied natural gas transport, leaving tankers unable to sail for more than a week and forcing producers to halt pumping as storage fills.
Brent crude futures jumped about 7 percent to settle at their highest price since 2022 after soaring by as much as 29 percent during the session, as Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members cut supplies. But prices fell in post-settlement trade.
The price of gasoline has particular political resonance in the United States, where voters cite rising costs as a top concern ahead of the November midterm elections, when Trump’s Republicans will try to keep control of Congress.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll released Monday found 67 percent of Americans expect gas prices to rise over the coming months, and only 29 percent approve of the war.
After speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump said the United States will waive oil-related sanctions on “some countries” to ease the shortage. According to multiple sources, that could mean a further easing of sanctions on Russian oil, which could complicate efforts to punish Moscow for its war in Ukraine. Other options include a possible release of oil from strategic reserves or restricting US exports, sources said.
Tehran was choked in black smoke after an oil refinery was hit, an escalation in strikes on Iran’s domestic energy supplies. World Health Organization chief Tedros Ghebreyesus warned the fire risks contaminating food, water and air.
Turkiye said NATO air defenses had shot down a ballistic missile that was fired from Iran and entered Turkish airspace, the second such incident of the war. Iran did not immediately comment on the report.
Israel’s military said it had launched new attacks in central Iran and struck the Lebanese capital Beirut, where Israel has extended its campaign after the Iran-backed militia Hezbollah fired across the border.
US-Israeli attacks have killed at least 1,332 Iranian civilians and wounded thousands, according to Iran’s UN ambassador. Lebanon has reported more than 400 people killed there, with nearly 700,000 people fleeing their homes.
In Israel, ambulance workers said one man died from shrapnel wounds at a construction site near Tel Aviv’s international airport, raising to 11 the death toll from Iranian strikes.