Tehran [Iran], March 5 : Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani, on Thursday, issued a blistering rebuke of US President Donald Trump following the deadly strike on a school for girls in Minab, southern Iran, sharply criticising America's "peace through strength" doctrine and directly challenging the US narrative on freedom in Iran.
In a post on X, Larijani condemned the "mass martyrdom of innocent girls" at the hands of what he described as "American-Israeli criminals", saying the theory of "peace through strength" has been "stained with blood" by the tragedy.
He then addressed Trump directly: "Mr. Trump! Is this the anthem you composed for freedom in Iran?" accusing US policy of hypocrisy and deception.
The security chief's remarks came amid international outrage after US-Israeli strikes in Iran hit Minab Girls' Primary School in the country's Hormozgan province, killing over 160 and injuring another 100.
This comes amid escalating tensions in West Asia after a joint US-Israel military strike on Saturday on Iranian territory resulted in the death of its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior figures, prompting a fierce response from Tehran.
In retaliation, Iran launched waves of drone and missile attacks across multiple Arab countries as the conflict now entered its sixth day.
Tehran's counter-strikes have also targeted American military bases and Israeli assets throughout the region, with Israel also continuing its strikes on Tehran and widening the conflict to Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah.
Earlier, on Monday Larijani firmly rejected that Iran would not negotiate with the United States on any matter following the strikes on February 28.
He made the remarks in response to Al Jazeera Breaking reporting that Iran is set to resume talks with the US via Oman as the intermediary, citing the Wall Street Journal.
Al Jazeera, in its post, had reported, "Wall Street Journal on officials: Larijani's initiative to resume talks with Washington submitted through intermediaries from the Sultanate of Oman."