Trump dismisses Iran security chief's threats: "I couldn't care less"

President Donald J. Trump dismissed public threats from Iran's top security official in a phone interview with CBS News, saying "I couldn't care less" after the Iranian post warned Mr. Trump must "pay the price" for strikes on Iran. The exchange underscored a sharp, public rupture between the former president's combative posture and growing concerns inside the government about retaliation and the safety of former officials.

Ali Larijani, identified as Iran's security chief, used social media to reject overtures for talks and accuse Mr. Trump of plunging the region into chaos. Larijani wrote, "We will not negotiate with the United States," and charged that Mr. Trump had turned "America First" into "Israel First," blaming him for putting American soldiers at risk. Larijani's posts explicitly warned of consequences for the strikes, amplifying a tense exchange of rhetoric that has coincided with renewed strikes between Iran and Israel and precautionary evacuations of diplomatic staff in the region.

Complicating the domestic picture, State Department-funded security details for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his aide Brian Hook were withdrawn this week, officials said. Accounts differ on timing: a person briefed on the matter said the protections were pulled on Tuesday, while a person familiar with the matter said the revocation occurred on Wednesday. A day earlier, Secret Service protection for John R. Bolton had been terminated. Mr. Bolton posted on X, "I am disappointed but not surprised that President Trump has decided to terminate the protection."

The removals come against a long shadow: both Mr. Pompeo and Mr. Hook were central to the administration that authorized the 2020 drone strike that killed General Qassim/Qassem Suleimani, an action that has continued to make them targets for Iranian retaliation. Biden administration officials had privately briefed the Trump team about ongoing threats to those former officials, a sign that risk assessments have remained active despite the passage of time.

Military and diplomatic precautions have multiplied as exchanges of strikes continued. Video coverage uploaded to YouTube documented what it called a fourth straight day of strikes and reported evacuations of nonessential personnel from multiple diplomatic missions. A Pentagon official, speaking at a briefing, said, "I don't want to talk specifics, because that would tip the enemy off. We have more tactical aviation flowing into theater just based on the time it took to get it out there." Regional reporting named airports, ports and high-profile hotels among reported targets, a pattern that has rattled markets and increased anxiety among U.S. allies and partners.

Mr. Trump also claimed Iran had signalled interest in negotiations but said it was "too late" for talks, a contention flatly rejected by Iran's security leadership. The public back-and-forth illustrates how rhetoric and policy actions are feeding one another: revocation of protections for former officials, explicit threats posted online, and a rising tempo of military moves across the Gulf raise the likelihood of miscalculation.

The dispute exposes a fraught policy choice for the current administration and the private security architecture that protects high-profile former officials. With threats now openly traded in public forums and protective details withdrawn, federal agencies and allied capitals face a narrower margin for de-escalation as diplomatic and military pressure intensifies.