Is Iran’s Top Cleric Calling for Holy War Against Trump and Netanyahu?

(The Post News)- Iran’s highest-ranking Shia clerics has issued a religious decree branding U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “enemies of God.”

Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi’s fatwa, reported by the Israel National News, calls for Muslim unity in standing against the two leaders, accusing them of threatening the Islamic world’s leadership and sovereignty. He warned that anyone aligning with them is acting against Islam, invoking the Islamic legal term mohareb, used to describe those who wage war against God.

Shirazi’s decree comes on the heels of a 12-day conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States. The military clash, which included an Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear sites under Operation Rising Lion and retaliatory missile launches from Iran, ended after U.S. airstrikes reportedly targeted Iranian military infrastructure. During the confrontation, President Trump is said to have thwarted an assassination attempt on Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and later hinted at regime change in Tehran.

“Any person or regime that threatens or attacks the leadership and authority in order to harm the Islamic Ummah and its sovereignty is considered a warlord or criminal of moharebeh,” Shirazi said in the fatwa. In countries where Islamic law is the basis of the legal system, a fatwa can be binding. The decree also stated that Muslims would be rewarded spiritually if they endured hardship opposing Trump and Netanyahu, who he urged should “regret their words and mistakes.”
The cleric’s use of religious law carries serious implications. Under Iran’s penal code, those deemed guilty of moharebeh can face extreme punishments, including execution, crucifixion, or exile.

The announcement has sparked strong criticism outside Iran. British-Iranian commentator Niyak Ghorbani likened the move to the 1989 fatwa against author Salman Rushdie, saying it “signals Tehran’s willingness to promote religious violence beyond its borders.” Rushdie’s decree led to decades of threats and a 2023 attack that left him blind in one eye.

While Trump has yet to comment, Netanyahu responded swiftly. “Israel will continue to take all necessary measures to protect its citizens and interests,” he said in a statement published by Israel National News. So far, Washington has not issued an official response.