Trump dismisses threats from Iran's security chief: "I couldn't care less"

Source: CBS News

Updated on: March 7, 2026 / 11:33 PM EST


In a phone interview with CBS News late Saturday evening, President Trump dismissed threats from Iran's top national-security official, Ali Larijani, who posted on social media earlier Saturday that Mr. Trump must "pay the price" for the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran. Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council and a longtime confidant of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has emerged as one of Iran's most high-profile leaders in the wake of Khamenei's Feb. 28 killing on the first day of the war.

"I have no idea what he's talking about, who he is. I couldn't care less," Mr. Trump told CBS News, adding that Larijani has "already been defeated."

Mr. Trump also pushed back against the latest wave of critical statements from Larijani and other Iranian leaders, calling them weak and increasingly diminished in the region. He reiterated that the U.S. strikes will continue as he demands an "unconditional surrender" from Iran.

Earlier Saturday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian released a video apology to Iran's neighbors for its retaliatory strikes against Israel and U.S. bases in the Middle East, saying they will stop striking other Persian Gulf states unless attacked first. Pezeshkian later backtracked his remarks.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-dismisses-threats-from-iran-security-chief/