Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei — who has not been seen or heard from publicly since succeeding his slain father following the opening U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran — declared Tuesday that “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” would become the rallying cries of the Muslim world while vowing that the Jewish state was nearing the “final stages” of its existence.
In a written message marking the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, Khamenei described Israel as a “cancerous tumor,” echoed his father’s prediction that the Jewish state would not survive another 25 years from a decade ago — effectively placing Israel’s destruction within roughly 15 years — and warned that regional nations would no longer serve as “shields” for American military bases.
“‘Death to America’ and ‘Death to Israel’ shall become the common chants of the Islamic ummah [nation] and the world’s oppressed, especially among the youth,” Khamenei wrote in the statement published by Iranian state-linked outlets and across his official X account, while praising Hezbollah and other Iranian-backed terror groups for what he called victories against the “American-Zionist armies.”
Khamenei also called on Muslims to pray for “the liberation of Palestine and the Al-Aqsa Mosque” and for “final victory against global arrogance” — a term the regime routinely uses to describe the United States.
“The shaken Zionist regime and the cancerous tumor of Israel are approaching the final stages of their wretched existence,” he charged, adding that “the United States not only will no longer have a safe haven for its mischief and for establishing military bases in the region but day by day, it is growing more distant from its former status.”
Khamenei further praised what he described as the power of “Allahu Akbar,” claiming Iranian forces and allied jihadist groups had delivered “a hard slap” to the United States while leaving Israel “gasp[ing] its final breath.”
“The armed forces of Islamic Iran, prepared to sacrifice their lives, together with the fighters of the resistance front, particularly beloved Lebanon, have achieved astonishing victories against two terrorist armies, the American and Zionist armies,” he wrote, referencing Hezbollah and other Iranian-backed terror proxies operating throughout the region.
The remarks came as tensions surrounding negotiations between Washington and Tehran intensified following fresh U.S. strikes on Iranian targets in southern Iran Monday night into Tuesday, including missile launch sites and vessels allegedly attempting to lay mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. Central Command said the strikes were carried out in “self-defense” to protect American forces, while Iranian officials accused Washington of violating the fragile ceasefire currently under discussion.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards subsequently warned they would deliver a “devastating” response to any future attacks by the United States or Israel, while Iranian state media claimed Tehran had downed an American drone — an assertion not confirmed by the Pentagon.
At the same time, Hezbollah sharply escalated attacks on northern Israel, launching explosive drones, rockets, and artillery fire toward Israeli communities and military positions along the border as Israeli officials warned of broader military action in Lebanon.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Israel would intensify operations against Hezbollah, while the Israel Defense Forces carried out dozens of strikes targeting Hezbollah infrastructure throughout southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley.
The escalating rhetoric and military activity unfolded even as the Trump administration continued signaling that negotiations with Tehran over ending the nearly three-month war were progressing.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that talks involving Qatari mediators and senior Iranian officials could still produce an agreement “in a few days,” while stressing that President Donald Trump would only accept a “good deal or no deal.”
Trump, meanwhile, reiterated Monday that Iran would never be permitted to retain enriched uranium capable of supporting a nuclear weapon.
“The Enriched Uranium (Nuclear Dust!) will either be immediately turned over to the United States to be brought home and destroyed or, preferably, in conjunction and coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran, destroyed in place,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Speaking at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day, Trump also paid tribute to the 13 U.S. service members killed during Operation Epic Fury.
“These incredible men and women gave their lives to ensure that the world’s number one state sponsor of terror will never have a nuclear weapon,” Trump declared. “Oh, and they won’t. They will never have a nuclear weapon.”
Iranian officials, however, continued publicly hardening their position.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Tuesday that Tehran was not yet discussing the details of its nuclear program and insisted that any agreement must also address the conflict in Lebanon, the future of the Strait of Hormuz, sanctions relief, and the release of frozen Iranian assets.
Iranian officials have also increasingly suggested China could play a larger role in any future agreement, with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Asim Munir meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Monday as Islamabad pushed for Beijing to act as a guarantor in a potential agreement between Tehran and Washington.
On X, Iran analyst Arash Azizi described Mojtaba Khamenei’s Hajj statement as “remarkable for how extremely eliminationist it is toward Israel, even by the regime’s standards.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar responded mockingly to the Iranian leader’s remarks while referencing his disappearance from public view following the February 28 strike that killed his father.
“Sounds familiar,” Sa’ar wrote on X. “I remember someone with a similar surname who used to say it. BTW, where are you?”
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jklein@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.