Live: Trump threatens Iran with force ‘never been seen before’ if they retaliate

Iran security official says Khamenei transition process to begin Sunday

Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani said the transition process following the killing of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will begin from Sunday.

“An interim leadership council will soon be formed. The president, the head of the judiciary and a jurist from the Guardian Council will assume responsibility until the election of the next leader,” said Larijani, the head of Iran’s top security body, the Supreme National Security Council, who was an adviser to Khamenei.

“This council will be established as soon as possible. We are working to form it as early as today,” he said in an interview broadcast by state TV.

Trump threatens Iran with force ‘never been seen before’ if they retaliate

President Donald Trump warns the United States will hit Iran with “force that has never been seen before” if the country retaliated against US and Israeli strikes that killed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran indicated it was “going to hit very hard today, harder than they have ever hit before,” wrote Trump, who has vowed to seek regime change in the Islamic republic, on his Truth Social platform.

“THEY BETTER NOT DO THAT, HOWEVER, BECAUSE IF THEY DO, WE WILL HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE!” he said.

The bombing campaign by the US and Israel—which followed a massive military buildup in the Middle East unseen since the 2003 invasion of Iraq—killed Khamenei, Iranian state television confirmed Sunday. Iran has since retaliated, with reported Iranian strikes across the Gulf, including in the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi and near regional US military bases.

Trump has said the US bombing will continue “as long as necessary” and noted Khamenei’s killing gives Iranians their “greatest chance” for taking power from the current regime.