Iranian clerics call for assassination of Trump and Netanyahu

[Twiglets1]

Article in The Telegraph reports that Iran’s most senior clerics have called for the assassination of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu.

In a 10-point statement, the Assembly of Experts said the killing of “the criminal American president” and “the wicked prime minister of the Zionist regime” was a religious duty.

Assassinating the two leaders – whom they described as mahdour al-dam, or deserving of death – “must not be neglected under any circumstances”.

In their call for Mr Trump and Mr Netanyahu to be assassinated, the clerics wrote that avenging the blood of Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader who was killed on the first day of the war, remained “paramount”.

“It is obligatory upon any duty-bound person who gains access to these criminals to send them to hell,” they added.

The language read like a religious edict but stopped short of a formal fatwa, which in Shia Islam is issued by an individual cleric in his own name rather than by a group.

The Assembly of Experts is an 88-member body of clerics constitutionally tasked with choosing and supervising the supreme leader.

The statement shows how fractured the establishment has become.

Only about 63 of the body’s members signed it, and the Assembly’s secretariat distanced itself hours later.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/06/30/iranian-clerics-call-for-trump-assassination/

And I think you're being a bit naïve if you don't think it's an internal problem for Iran. We will have to agree to disagree on that.

I really don't think anyone cares if you criticise a few religious clerics(surely it's them that you are criticising here not the whole of Iran).

To quote you 'No we don't need to take that seriously because it didn't happen and Trump does make a huge amount of idle threats so we know.' it's exactly the same situation here, it hasn't happened and these extremist clerics often make idle threats. It's a complete non issue, that's why people are talking about other things, like threats that have actually happened that barely seemed to raise an eyebrow on some because what is there to say on this really? Nothing has happened, a few men said a few things 😱😱

You say these extremist clerics often make idle threats but the clerics wouldn't be the ones doing the assassinations. It would be Islamic extremists answering their call and it's not true to say the threats from Islamic extremists are always idle.

Nothing has happened yet but a fatwa (which this would be called if it came from an individual not a group) can lasts years. It is likely that there will be further assassination attempts on Trump in the future, and possibly as a result of this edict. I don't think it's a non issue but if you do then ok, that's your opinion.

Also @CagedBirdInACage yes you are correct that I am criticising the religious clerics not of course the whole of Iran.

You say you doubt that "anyone cares" about that but if so, why come onto the thread at all? The title makes it clear what the thread is about.

Have you missed the fact that Trump literally killed the top Iranian leader and had the President of Venezuela kidnapped and deposed?

It's hardly true to say that threats from Trump(or his frenemy Netanyahu) are always idle is it yet you don't think his threats are worth listening to.

Again your arguments for why we should have selective outrage about this just aren't stacking up. It's almost like you are holding Iranians to a higher standard and exceptionalising them, where have I heard arguments against that type of behaviour from 🤔

Is the issue here is really that it is religious clerics who have called for the death of Donald and Bibi, or just that it’s Iran?

I didn't say that his threats aren't worth listening to.

I said his threat that "a whole civilisation will die tonight" is in the past and didn't happen so can be classified as just Trump being Trump whereas the religious edict has just happened so seems a current not past threat.

Please keep it civil @JadeHare I'm allowed to have an opinion on Iranian religious leaders calling for assassinations and if you're ok with that, sorry but I'm not.

I was perfectly civil.

Or just TACO. Daft threat to make though.

Of course it was a daft threat to make and he rightly got a lot of condemnation for it.

Millions of civilians are being murdered at these people’s behest. If international law continues to be undermined, they wiil eventually have no safeguards.

He bombed a girls school and killed 186 children. That can’t be taken back.

So we can fairly and comprehensively wrap this thread up by simply declaring that this latest statement (which will soon be in the past) is just religious leaders being religious leaders. Six of one and half a dozen of the other. QED

So you’re anxious in case people think it’s only Islam with murderous nutjobs who incite their followers to commit murder and make out it’s part of their religious duty?

I don’t think that’s ’standard fare’ for any religion that I know of.

This is why there’s a thread about this incitement to commit murder. The fact it has come from religious leaders and been dressed up as a holy act is unusual and worrying.

The fact it’s against Trump and Netanyahu doesn’t excuse it, or lessen how horrendous and worrying it is.

I think it could get pretty tedious if MN threads fill up with whataboutery, with posters anxiously jumping on to say ‘well these other people do it too’ every time somebody posts something perceived as negative about a person who is from their favoured group. It also reads as an attempt to deflect from focus on the matter at hand (ie the topic of the thread).

I am not at all anxious about Islam being shown to have religious nutjobs. I am atheist and against all religious nutjobs.

I have said above, Iranian clerics have been doing this stuff for decades, and I am saying look, the world is full of religious nutjobs coming out with this stuff, and no need to go all the way to Iran to find them. They are among us already.

And really, when have Iranian clerics not called for the death of people. Here is one from Aug last year:

2,000 Iranian clerics bless Trump assassination | Iran International (iranintl.com)

June last year :

Trump, Netanyahu Targeted Under Iranian Fatwas (americanfaith.com)

March this year :

Two senior Iranian clerics issue fatwas urging revenge over Khamenei’s death | Iran International (iranintl.com)

Did you miss the foiled plot against Trump last month at his UFC cage fight last month -

Feds reveal details of alleged plot to attack White House UFC event with explosive drones - CBS News

There were arrests over that one. From CNN-

According to court documents, the group Proper joined was focused on some form of accelerationism — an ideology that believes the collapse of society should be expedited in order to form a better world.

Some members said in the chats they didn’t want people connected to Jeffrey Epstein running the country, according to the complaint, while Proper was also focused on targeting lawmakers who were pro-Israel.
Other members expressed vehement antisemitism as well as the belief the government is run by the elites who sacrifice babies and are being protected by President Donald Trump.

19-year-old would-be attacker of UFC event sought to use drones and was referred to police by his parents, FBI says | CNN Politics

If we are supposed to be outraged against every nut who threatens Trump we would all burst with rage.

Edit to add - Whataboutism? Yes, I suppose it is. But in this case I reckon valid. Because death threats against Trump are not unusual.

Hell, James Comey his ex FBI director was arrested for that -

How does James Comey's 'threat' against Trump compare to other defendants charged by DOJ? - ABC News

From the article linked to above:

Under Shi'ite jurisprudence, the declaration of mohareb and the issuance of a fatwa make it religiously obligatory for devout Shiite Muslims to act.

That wouldn't give them much protection in the Law should they choose to attack someone just because it had been described as their religious duty.

Scary stuff. And yes @BunfightBetty a bigger issue than it's ok because it's just Trump and Netanyahu in this instance.

I am not at all anxious about Islam being shown to have religious nutjobs. I am atheist and against all religious nutjobs.

Great, so why bring Christianity into it? What was your motivation there?

I am always really dismayed when people do the whataboutery about religion. It's all over this board, it's so depressing, because it is a nutshell version of the wider Israel/Palestinian conflict, and perpetuates the bigotry where Judaism is pitted against Islam, as if they are enemies.

I get that in many idiots peoples' minds they are enemies, but that's the issue, isn't it? They shouldn't be.

Every single time somebody posts about an atrocity committed by Hamas, for example, the replies start what about Israel. You could bet your last pound that this will start within three replies to the OP.

It's like people divide themselves into 'them and us' categories and pick a side they root for aggressively and one-sidedly, as if they're rooting for their favourite football team. So many posters only see and empathise with the humanity of their pet side. It's really deflating to read.

It is not a virtue to take one side wholesale and uncritically, even if they have the same religion as you, or you perceive them to be the underdog (don't get me started with the whole fatuous nature of the omnicause, and the way people swallow that wholesale without doing any critical thinking themselves)

We don't need to pit Christianity against Islam, or Islam against Judaism.

It's only when people are able to rise above all that, that these problems will be solved.

Is it whataboutery when the subject is a threat on the lives of Trump and Netanyahu ?

In my post above I listed other times when Iranian Clerics threatened Trump. and other instances of other threats to Trump. Before that I posted about other religious batshit groups who threaten to kill. I have not mentioned Hamas or Judaism.

I am not picking sides re religious batshit mad killers, because I am against it all. I am against religion being used in this way. In fact, I am nearly against all religion in general because of crap like this.

This whole middle east thing is all about religion.

And the thing is about the Iranian clerics is that I can't find much about it. Details such as translations of what they said etc (Likely cos I have limited web). So there is not really that much to post about on them. And it appears nobody is posting much detail about it.

There is nothing stopping your good self or anyone else posting details about the clerics for us all to read.

Quote " It's only when people are able to rise above all that, that these problems will be solved."

Well yes. And it would be nice if Trump/ Netanyahu and co could shut up about religion. I missed out Iran there because it is a theocracy, so by definition near everything they say is religious. Israel and the US however, they are supposed to be secular.

I am against theocratic governments too by the way.

Every single time somebody posts about an atrocity committed by Hamas, for example, the replies start what about Israel. You could bet your last pound that this will start within three replies to the OP.
@BunfightBetty and every single time someone posts an atrocity committed by Israel the replies start about October 7th so it's swings and roundabouts really .

And the problem with this subject is that there is not a lot of info out there about it. I daresay other forums have folk that know about the religion in Iran. I don't know about it. And I am not going to spend years studying just so I can post here.

I know. That was my point.

And you’ve just made it for me in leaping to do a ‘what about Israel’!

My point was about whataboutery and people leaping to the defence of their favoured side and looking to set up their pet side in opposition to ‘the other side’, rather than discussing each issue, event or party on their own merit. It wasn’t to say one ‘side’ is worse at the whataboutery than the other, even though there is a clear bias on the board as which ‘side’ is favoured.

I suppose it mirrors the real life polarisation of the situation. I do find it frustrating, though. It just doesn’t help anything or anyone to be like that.