Donald Trump tells Iran 'better not' strike after Ayatollah Khamenei killed

Donald Trump has warned Iran against further retaliation for the joint US-Israeli strikes which killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, vowing the US would counter with unprecedented force

Donald Trump has issued a stark warning to Iran against further retaliation for the joint US-Israeli strikes on the country which resulted in the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, cautioning that the US would respond "with a force that has never been seen before".

In a post on Truth Social on Sunday, the US President wrote: "Iran just stated that they are going to hit very hard today, harder than they have ever hit before. THEY BETTER NOT DO THAT, HOWEVER, BECAUSE IF THEY DO, WE WILL HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE! Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP."

His message followed Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard announcing it would launch its "most-intense offensive operation" ever in retaliation for the devastating Saturday morning strikes.

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"The most-intense offensive operation in the history of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will begin in moments, targeting ( Israel ) and American terrorist bases," it stated.

Iranian state TV confirmed the 86 year old Khamenei's death early on Sunday. Mr Trump had earlier asserted that Khamenei perished in the attacks and called on the Iranian people to grasp "the single greatest chance ... to take back their country".

The Government has yet to comment on the Ayatollah's death, but shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel remarked: "No-one should shed any tears for the death of Khamenei."daily-mirror-icon_news_world-news_ayatollah-ali-khamenei

Saturday's strike triggered retaliation from Iran, with attacks reported across several Gulf nations including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Hundreds of thousands of British citizens are thought to be in the Gulf, and those in Bahrain, Israel, Palestine, Qatar and the UAE have been urged to register their whereabouts with the Foreign Office.

The US and Israel characterised the attacks as a "pre-emptive" strike against a Tehran government determined to develop nuclear weapons. Negotiations between the US and Iran focused on resolving the matter of Tehran's nuclear programme concluded on Thursday without agreement, but were anticipated to restart at a future date.

After the strikes, Sir Keir Starmer attended the Government's emergency Cobra committee on Saturday morning, before liaising with European and Gulf allies. Later on Saturday, Sir Keir spoke to Mr Trump to discuss the situation and outlined the UK's role in defensive operations across the region.

In a joint statement with the leaders of France and Germany, the Prime Minister condemned Iran's retaliation and called on Tehran to "refrain from indiscriminate military strikes" and "seek a negotiated solution".

Speaking from Downing Street, Sir Keir said the UK had not participated in the strikes, but had subsequently deployed aircraft "as part of co-ordinated regional defensive operations to protect our people, our interests and our allies". He further stated that security measures for British bases in the Middle East have been enhanced and the Government is "reaching out to UK nationals in the region and doing everything we can to support them".

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