Iranian paper repeats calls to 'shoot Trump in skull'

Iran’s ultra-hardline Kayhan newspaper, managed by a representative of the Supreme Leader, has repeated weekend calls to assassinate US President Donald Trump to avenge the 2020 killing of IRGC commander Qassem Soleimani.

On Sunday, the daily expressed support for what it described as revenge for the drone strike in Iraq, ordered by Trump during his first time in office, just one day after a piece had warned "a few bullets are going to be fired into that empty skull of his".

"The shot hasn’t even been fired yet, and already a bunch of local lackeys and US bootlickers are totally freaking out,... since their skulls are as empty as Trump’s, they’ve gotten scared," the outlet wrote on Sunday.

Since the assassination, Trump and several of his aides were put on a hit list but the issue of Soleimani's killing had been somewhat dulled down in recent months amid Trump's renewed campaign of 'maximum pressure' and calls to make a fresh nuclear deal.

The column, presented as a fictional conversation, called advocates of nuclear talks with the US “America’s bootlickers”. Iran's Supreme Leader continues to refuse to engage in direct talks, but has warmed to the idea of using mediation in the wake of Trump's warning that if a new nuclear deal is not reached within two months, the US will bomb Iran.

The former head of the Parliament's National Security Committee reacted to the newspaper's piece on Saturday, criticizing it as inflammatory while the situation remains so volatile.

Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh wrote on X, “Iranians hate those who promote war and terrorism. If you had the courage for war, you would’ve gone to Lebanon. If you have an assassination plan, don’t attribute your recklessness to Iran.

“The nation pays the price for the extremists’ warmongering and terroristic bluffs. The government must disavow this destructive movement.”

Tabnak website also criticized the article, warning of its costs to a nation already suffering a social and economic crisis.

"A newspaper, which happens to be state-affiliated, is publicly promoting a slogan whose cost will ultimately be paid by the people. It seems that if these ultra-revolutionary individuals truly have the motivation to sacrifice for the country, there are plenty of real opportunities to demonstrate that sacrifice," it wrote.

The paper said assassinating Trump would be “a good thing and would bring joy to Palestinians” and armed groups.

The US continues to confront Iran's Houthi militia in Yemen in the Red Sea region amid the group's maritime blockade on commercial shipping.

Ordered by the Supreme Leader in 2023 as a means to target Israeli shipping in order to force a ceasefire in Gaza, the blockade has since affected global shipping, with Trump vowing to tackle the group head on.