Top Iran cleric declares Trump and Netanyahu ‘enemies of Allah’
Fatwa calls on Muslims everywhere to make the Israeli and US leaders “regret their words and wrongdoings.”
By Ryan Jones
Israel Today
Jun 30, 2025
Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi, one of Iran’s most senior Shia clerics, has issued a fatwa condemning US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “enemies of Allah.” The decree, released on June 30, carries potent implications—it frames both leaders as legitimate targets under Iranian and Sharia law.
Ayatollah Shirazi is a Marja, the most senior level of religious authority in Iran’s official brand of Shia Islam. A fatwa by a Marja isn’t mere opinion—it’s a binding religious directive. Shirazi’s fatwa labels Trump and Netanyahu as “Mohareb,” meaning perpetrators of war against Allah—an offense punishable by death, terror, or exile under Iran’s Islamic penal code.
Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi (second from left) is pictured during a turban-wearing ceremony at a seminary in the holy city of Qom on February 8, 2024.
The Ayatollah urged Muslims around the world to take action: “Make them regret their words and wrongdoings.” He insisted any cooperation with these leaders is haram (religiously forbidden), and that those who suffer or die in opposing them will be honored as martyrs.
A translation of the fatwa provided by the National Union for Democracy in Iran reads:
“Anyone who aims to harm the Muslim Ummah [global community of Muslims] and threatens the Supreme Leader or other religious leaders or, Allah forbid, strikes out, is hereby declared Mohareb [enemy of Allah].
“Any collaboration with or assistance to them is Haram [forbidden] for Muslims and Islamic states.
“It is upon all Muslims across the world to make these enemies regret their words and their wrongdoing, and if harm or hardship befalls them, they will be rewarded as Mojaeh [warriors] in the path of Allah, if Allah wills it.”
The fatwa was issued in response to a formal religious query urging Ayatollah Shirazi to address Israeli and US strikes on Iran and humiliating remarks made by both Trump and Netanyahu against Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
As noted, this fatwa is more than a symbolic gesture—it has real-world implications. Labeling high-ranking foreign leaders as enemies of Allah and calling for their punishment can inspire and legitimize attempts on their lives. For Iranian true believers, it is just short of a direct order to assassinate Trump or Netanyahu.
A similar fatwa was issued in 1989 against author Salman Rushdie, and Shia faithful have since attempted to kill Rushdie on several occasions.
It is nothing short of state-backed religious incitement, and again highlights the fact that this is a religious war in which clergy shape the battlefield as much as missiles, tanks, and jets.
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