Trump on Iran security chief’s retaliation threats: ‘I couldn’t care less’

President Trump on Saturday evening dismissed one of Tehran’s few surviving leaders’ threats against the U.S as its military campaign in Iran enters its second week.

“I have no idea what he’s talking about, who he is. I couldn’t care less,” Trump told CBS News, when asked about Ali Larijani, who has vowed to retaliate against the U.S., making threats against U.S. military bases and Trump himself on social media in recent days.

Larijiani, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, has emerged as one of the country’s key figures after U.S. and Israeli strikes killed Ayotollah Ali Khamanei last week.

“We won’t let #Trump off the hook; he must pay the price—he’s martyred our leader and our people. This isn’t a simple matter; we won’t let it go until we retaliate in kind,” Larijiani wrote on the social media platform X on Saturday.

Trump, in his interview with CBS News, pushed back on Larijiani and other Iranian officals threats on social media. He also claimed Larijiani has “already been defeated.”

Since the start of U.S. and Israeli joint strikes in the region, the president has said that he must be involved in the selection of Tehran’s new leader. After Khamenei’s death, a three-person leadership council was formed to head the country until the Assembly of Experts selects the next supreme leader. The interim panel includes Larijani, as well as Ayatollah Alireza Arafi and President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Mojtaba Khamenei has emerged as the frontrunner to replace his late father to lead the country next.

Earlier Saturday, Pezeshkian reportedly rejected Trump’s demand for “unconditional” surrender in a video message, where he also indicated that the interim council had agreed to halt attacks against other Middle Eastern countries — unless strikes originated from within their borders.

Trump, in turn, vowed to press on with the military campaign, doubling down on his policy and strategy in the region.

“It’s been incredible, the job we’ve done,” Trump said to CBS about U.S. military operations. “The missiles are blow to smithereens. They’re down to very few. The drones are blown. The factories are being blown up as we speak. The navy is gone, it’s at the bottom of the sea. Forty-two ships, 42, in six days, 42 ships. The navy is gone. The air force is gone. Every single element of their military is gone. Their leadership is gone. There’s not a thing that’s not gone.”

The president’s interview with CBS came just hours after he rejected the U.K.’s offer to send aircraft carriers to the Middle East, stating the U.S. “will remember” and that “we don’t need people that join Wars after we’ve already won!”

“It’s a little bit late to be sending ships, right? A little bit late,” Trump told CBS.

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