Top Iranian Cleric Slaps Trump and Netanyahu With a Fatwa, Sparking Global Terrorism Fears

(Mark Schiefelbein/AP photo)

A top Iranian cleric has issued a fatwa against President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling the pair “enemies of God” and sparking global terrorism fears.

In his ruling over the weekend, Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi said that Trump and Netanyahu are now considered “warlords” and “enemies of God” after threatening Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, The Jewish Chronicle reported.

Some, including Iranian-born commentator Niyak Ghorbani, came out against the fatwa, saying it could be interpreted as an invitation to global terrorism.

“The West must realise: the Islamic Republic is not only targeting its own people — it is preparing for global violence in the name of religion,” Ghorbani said in an X post.

The declaration is similar to the fatwa placed on The Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie, who was brutally stabbed onstage during a public appearance in upstate New York in 2022.

The suspect, Hadi Matar, was believed to have been acting on the fatwa when he attacked Rushdie. Matar was sentenced to 25 years in prison in May.