Iran’s supreme leader issues ultimatum to Trump amid rising tensions

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has issued a sharp ultimatum to U.S. President Donald Trump, warning that Tehran will not engage in any dialogue with Washington unless the United States ends its support for Israel, withdraws its military from the Middle East, and stops interfering in regional affairs.

Speaking in Tehran on Monday during a ceremony marking the anniversary of the 1979 U.S. Embassy takeover, Khamenei accused the United States of “arrogance, imperialism, and hypocrisy,” and said American leaders have always sought to subjugate Iran.

“Every American president has demanded Iran’s surrender, even if they did not say it aloud,” Khamenei said. “The current president said it openly—he revealed the true face of America.”

He added that any future U.S. request for engagement would only be considered after Washington met Tehran’s conditions, Newsweek reported.

“Only if the United States completely cuts its backing for the Zionist regime, removes its military bases from the region, and ceases interfering in its affairs,” Khamenei said, adding that such changes were unlikely “in the near future.”

Khamenei described the 1979 embassy takeover—when Iranian students held 52 U.S. diplomats hostage for 444 days—as “a day of pride and victory.” The event, he said, exposed “the true identity of the American government” and reflected what he called fundamental, not tactical, differences between the two nations.

The seizure followed Washington’s decision to admit the deposed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi for medical treatment, an act that fueled fears of another U.S.-backed attempt to overturn Iran’s revolution.

However, in a CBS 60 Minutes interview aired Sunday, Trump defended his administration’s military actions against Iran, calling them essential for Middle East stability.

“You essentially had a nuclear Iran, and I blasted the hell out of ‘em,” Trump said, claiming that U.S. operations had neutralized Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

He added that curbing Iran’s ambitions was key to continued progress on Arab-Israeli normalization and said American strikes were “measured to deter Tehran while leaving room for diplomacy.”

The exchange underscores a deepening rift between Washington and Tehran at a time of mounting instability in the region. Recent months have seen Israeli attacks on Iranian positions, U.S. strikes on suspected nuclear sites, and a breakdown in diplomatic efforts, Newsweek reported.

Analysts warn that unless either side softens its stance, the current impasse could harden into a prolonged confrontation—raising the risk of renewed military clashes involving the United States, Iran, and their regional allies.