Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has rejected Donald Trump’s call for ‘unconditional surrender’ and warned that the US military involvement in the Iran-Israel conflict would cause “irreparable damage.” Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting with a group of students in Tehran.(REUTERS file)

The statement was made by Khamenei in his second public appearance since the Israeli strikes began last week.

“Intelligent people who know Iran, the nation and the history of Iran, will never speak to this nation in the language of threats, because the Iranian nation cannot be surrendered,” Ayatollah Khamenei said in a televised address, according to The New York Times. Follow Iran Israel war live updates.

“The Americans should know that any US military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage,” the supreme leader added.

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The televised address also comes amid reports that the Iranian leader has handed over key powers to the supreme council of the Iranian military and has been relocated to an underground bunker along with his close family members.

Trump’s plan for Iran-Israel conflict

Trump, while responding to Khamenei’s latest address, said, “I say good luck.”

Khamenei’s statement comes after Trump had raised the possibility of assassinating Khamenei, adding that he would not pursue that action “at least for now.”

The US President also demanded that Iran surrender without conditions and warned Khamenei that the White House knows “exactly” where he is hiding.

Trump, who initially distanced himself from the Israel attack at Iran, has hinted at greater American involvement.

Also Read: Khamenei transfers powers to Iranian military amid escalating Israel-Iran conflict: Report

Earlier in the day, Bloomberg said that the senior US officials are preparing for the possibility of a strike on Iran in the coming days.

Casualties mount in Iran

The fighting between the regional foes continued on Thursday with Israel targeting over 20 military sites in Iran.

Even as Iran has maintained that 224 people died in the conflict, Washington-based group Human Rights Activists said 639 people may have been killed in the Israeli strikes.

Israel has said that it launched the strikes last Friday to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon, after talks between the US and Iran over a diplomatic resolution made little visible progress over two months but were still ongoing.