"Won't Surrender": Iran Warns US Of 'Irreparable Damage' If It Intervenes

After warnings, ultimatums, and even a death threat by Israel's Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump, Iran's Supreme Leader has spoken. "Never", he said responding to President Trump's call for an "unconditional surrender".

Addressing the people of Iran and sending a message to the enemy from his secret hideout, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader said, Tehran "will never surrender". Countering the threats given to him by Netanyahu and Trump, the Ayatollah warned the United States of "irreparable damage" if it intervenes in the Israel-Iran conflict.

"The harm the US will suffer will definitely be irreparable if they enter this conflict militarily," Khamenei wrote on X.

The harm the US will suffer will definitely be irreparable if they enter this conflict militarily.

— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) June 18, 2025

Speaking about Trump, Khamenei wrote, "The US President threatens us. With his absurd rhetoric, he demands that the Iranian people surrender to him. They should make threats against those who are afraid of being threatened. The Iranian nation isn't frightened by such threats."

The US President threatens us. With his absurd rhetoric, he demands that the Iranian people surrender to him.
They should make threats against those who are afraid of being threatened. The Iranian nation isn't frightened by such threats.

— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) June 18, 2025

The Supreme Leader also warned the US of "damage it will suffer", saying it will be "far greater than any harm that Iran may encounter."

The US entering in this matter [war] is 100% to its own detriment. The damage it will suffer will be far greater than any harm that Iran may encounter.

— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) June 18, 2025

TRUMP'S WARNING - 'WE KNOW WHERE HE'S HIDING'

President Trump, had on Tuesday, issued an ultimatum to Khamenei to "surrender unconditionally", adding a veiled threat that the United States and Israel know "exactly where the so-called 'Supreme Leader' is hiding."

"He is an easy target, but is safe there - We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don't want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers," President Trump said, but warned that Washington's "patience is wearing thin," suggesting that should the conflict escalate, the US might even consider killing the Ayatollah.

'GAVE IRAN CHANCE AFTER CHANCE'

A few days earlier, in a post on his social media account on Truth Social, Trump had said "I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal. I told them, in the strongest of words, to "just do it," but no matter how hard they tried, no matter how close they got, they just couldn't get it done. I told them it would be much worse than anything they know, anticipated, or were told, that the United States makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the World, BY FAR, and that Israel has a lot of it, with much more to come - And they know how to use it."

The US President reminded Khamenei that several "Iranian hardliner's spoke bravely, but they didn't know what was about to happen. They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse!"

IRAN'S BALLISTIC MISSILE RESPONSE TO ISRAEL

The conflict between Israel and Iran has spiralled since Friday, when Tel Aviv carried out precision air strikes on Iran's military and nuclear facilities. Tehran reponded by firing hundreds of ballistic missiles across Israel, targeting mostly civilian areas, including big cities like Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

Israel had vowed to respond to the escalation by Iran and cautioned the residents of Tehran that Tel Aviv's response may result in some civilain casualties, though civilians are not Israel's primary target. Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz had said, "While there is no intention to physically harm the residents of Tehran as the murderous dictator does against the residents of Israel, the residents of Tehran will be forced to pay the price of dictatorship and evacuate their homes from areas where it will be necessary to attack regime targets and security infrastructure in Tehran. We will continue to protect the residents of Israel."

Besides the ballistic missiles it used over the weekend, Iran, on Wednesday, launched hypersonic missiles on its cities. In a post on social media platform X, Iran's Khamenei wrote, "In the name of God, the battle begins," adding that Iran "must give a strong response to the terrorist Zionist regime. We will show the Zionists no mercy."

We must give a strong response to the terrorist Zionist regime.
We will show the Zionists no mercy.

— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) June 17, 2025

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Gulf nation's powerful military, said it has launched its Fattah-1 hypersonic missile targeting Israeli cities. An official statement issued by the group noted that "The 11th wave of the proud Operation Honest Promise 3 used Fattah-1 missiles".

A hypersonic missile is a weapon that uses a glide propulsion vehicle to guide a bomb or warhead at Mach 5 speed, or five times the speed of sound in order to strike its intended target.

The Unites States is considering joining Israel as the conflict intensifies. A statement has also been issued by the G7 nations, including Germany and France, that it too shall back Israel in its efforts to stop Iran from having a nuclear weapon, which as per Tel Aviv, Tehran is close to developing.

The US has already said that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon under any circumstance.

Iran has, for years, been enriching uranium, which it says is purely for civilian nuclear energy - a relatively clean source of energy compared to fossil fuels. But as per Israeli and American intelligence, Tehran has reached levels of uranium enrichment, which may allow it to develop a bomb.

THE ENRICHMENT CALCULATION

Steve Witkoff, United States Special Envoy to the Middle East has said that for civilian purposes, 3.67 per cent uranium enrichment is enough. Tehran has already gone far beyond that. Enrichment levels of uranium in Iran are already up to 60 per cent - a short, technical step away from reaching weapons-grade levels of 90 per cent.

"This cannot be allowed," Mr Witkoff had said in April, while Donald Trump had fully backed him at the time, saying, "Iran has to get rid of the concept of a nuclear weapon. These are radicalised people, and they cannot have a nuclear weapon."

Israel's Netanyahu said that Friday's offensive against Iran was only due to Tehran getting dangerously close to developing the bomb. Since Friday, Tel Aviv has targeted all of Iran's uranium enrichment facilities.