Amid escalating tensions with Israel, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a warning to the 'terrorist Zionist regime,' saying, "The battle begins." Khamenei's post came hours after threats from US President Donald Trump, who called for Iran's 'unconditional surrender' and said that the US knows where Iran's Supreme Leader is hiding during the Israel-Iran conflict but doesn't want him killed 'for now.'
According to a translation by Iran International, the post reads, "Ali returns to Khaybar," referencing the 7th-century conquest of the Jewish town of Khaybar by Imam Ali, the first imam of Shia Islam. The Times of Israel reported that the post, originally shared in Farsi, carries strong religious and political undertones, especially in the context of the ongoing Iran-Israel conflict. The post includes an image of a man holding a sword entering a castle-like gate, under a sky lit with fiery streaks.
Will show no mercy: Khamenei as Iran launches hypersonic missile on Israel
Moments later, Khamenei posted on X: "We must give a strong response to the terrorist Zionist regime. We will show the Zionists no mercy." The statement came shortly after Iran launched two rounds of ballistic missiles at Israel early Wednesday.
