Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei, has issued a sharp rebuke of United States President Donald Trump, accusing him of arrogance and warning that his leadership could end in downfall like that of past tyrants.
In a message shared on his official X account on Friday, Khamenei likened Trump to historical figures such as Pharaoh, Nimrod and Iran’s former monarch, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, whom he said were brought down at the height of their power due to pride and oppressive rule.
According to Khamenei, leaders who govern with hubris and view themselves as above accountability often meet the same fate, regardless of their influence or military strength. He argued that history repeatedly shows the collapse of rulers who exercise power without humility.
The Iranian leader criticised what he described as Washington’s habit of judging global affairs with arrogance, stating that such an approach had led to the downfall of powerful empires and rulers in the past.
Khamenei’s comments come against the backdrop of persistent hostility between Tehran and Washington, marked by years of sanctions, diplomatic standoffs and confrontational rhetoric between senior officials of both countries.
Tensions have also intensified in recent months following renewed conflict in the Middle East. In June 2025, Trump publicly praised an Israeli military strike on Iranian targets, describing the attack as successful and warning that further action could follow.
Iranian authorities strongly condemned the strikes, which reportedly targeted locations in Tehran and other areas, describing them as acts of aggression that threatened regional stability.
Khamenei has consistently framed the standoff with the United States in ideological and historical terms, positioning Iran’s resistance as a lesson drawn from the failures of past empires and rulers.
