Tehran: In a rare and powerful religious decree, Iran’s most senior Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi, has issued a fatwa declaring US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “enemies of God.”
The announcement comes after 12 days of intense cross-border conflict involving Iran, Israel, and the United States. The fatwa was reported by Mehr News Agency on Sunday.
In his decree, Makarem Shirazi called Trump and Netanyahu mohareb, a religious term meaning “those who wage war against God,” a designation in Iranian law that can carry severe punishments, even death.
“Any person or regime that threatens the Leader or Marja (religious authority) is considered a warlord or mohareb,” Shirazi declared, urging Muslims worldwide to oppose the US and Israel in every way possible. He called cooperation with these governments haram (religiously forbidden) and said Muslims would be rewarded as fighters for God if they suffered any hardship in resisting.
The fatwa follows a deadly flare-up that began on June 13, when Israeli airstrikes destroyed parts of Iran’s nuclear program, killing scientists and top military officials. Iran fired missiles at Israeli cities in retaliation. Days later, the United States joined the conflict by helping Israel attack three nuclear sites in Iran, which led Iran to strike back at a US base in Qatar.
Fatwas issued by senior clerics like Shirazi are deeply influential in Shia-majority Iran and among followers worldwide. Many experts see this decree as a clear signal that Iran’s religious leadership is ready to encourage even more resistance against its long-time adversaries.
This is not the first time Iran’s clerics have used a fatwa to sanction violence. The most famous example was in 1989, when Ayatollah Khomeini called for the killing of author Salman Rushdie over his book The Satanic Verses.
