Iran security chief Larijani: Trump's threats to hit harder are 'empty' — 'take care of yourself not to be eliminated'

Iran's security chief Ali Larijani posted a direct response to US President Trump on X, dismissing Trump's threat to hit Iran 'much harder' if it blocks oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz as 'empty threats.' 'Iran is not afraid of your empty threats. Even those greater than you could not eliminate the Iranian nation. Take care of yourself not to be eliminated!' Larijani wrote. Larijani is one of Iran's most senior political figures — former parliament speaker, former nuclear negotiator, and current head of the Supreme National Security Council under the new leadership of Mojtaba Khamenei. His public dismissal of Trump's threats on X is a deliberate escalatory communication: Iran is signalling it will not be deterred from its oil blockade threat by American bluster. The 'take care of yourself not to be eliminated' formulation is particularly aggressive — it inverts Trump's implied threat against Mojtaba with a counter-threat against Trump himself. The statement is consistent with Iran's posture throughout the war: publicly defiant, refusing all talks, and threatening maximum economic pain through Hormuz. Whether Iran has the operational capacity to carry out a full oil blockade — given the degradation of its naval forces (46 ships sunk per Trump's claim) — is a separate question from its rhetorical willingness.