In a shocking development amid rising Middle East tensions, Iran’s top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi, has issued a fatwa against former U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Labeling them as "Enemies of God", the decree comes in the wake of a 12-day military conflict between Iran and Israel, with U.S. forces backing Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites.

The fatwa declares anyone threatening Iran’s Supreme Leader or Shia Marja as mohareb (one who wages war against God), punishable by execution or exile under Iranian law. Shirazi also warned that any Muslim or Islamic nation supporting these leaders would be committing a grave sin.

This fatwa reignites concerns about violent religious edicts, reminiscent of the 1989 fatwa against author Salman Rushdie. The move is seen as Iran’s aggressive stance after U.S. and Israeli military interventions.

Shirazi concluded with a prayer for divine protection and the return of the Mahdi, a central messianic figure in Shia Islam.