World
Top Iranian official calls for Maduro-style capture of ‘yellow dog’ Trump
Hassan Rahimpour-Azghadi suggested that ‘acts of sabotage’ on US soil were now ‘acceptable...in terms of religious law and international norms’
January 13, 2026 14:54
Hassan Rahimpour-Azghadi suggested that ‘acts of sabotage’ on US soil were now ‘acceptable...in terms of religious law and international norms’
January 13, 2026 14:54A top Iranian official has called for the Islamic Republic to orchestrate the “capture” of US President, referencing America’s own seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro earlier this month.
Hassan Rahimpour-Azghadi, a member of the Iranian Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, said during a recent media appearance that Trump, whom he called a “yellow dog”, must “pay the price” for America’s interventions in the region, according to a translation from the Middle East Media Research Institute (Memri).
Speaking to state TV, he said: “Inshallah, we should do to Trump something similar to what they did to Maduro.
"Such an operation should be carried out against Trump. This is acceptable legally, and in terms of religious law and international norms.
"We are dealing with a savage individual and a savage regime, which extends its claws everywhere in the world. They kill, burn, assassinate, kidnap people, bomb, send mercenaries, and they declare that they have done this out in the open.”
Maduro, whose government served as a key ally of Iran in the Americas and acted as a major oil exporter to bust US sanctions, was seized by US forces during strikes on Caracas on January 3.
He and his wife, Cilia Flores, are due to stand trial in New York on charges including “narcoterrorism” and drug trafficking.
"In light of what Trump is doing, any type of operation can be carried out on US soil, in every state and every city,” continued Rahimpour-Azghadi.
As examples, he suggested “arson attacks, burning people, gunning down people in the streets, running over a mother and her daughter with a car,” which he labelled “acts of sabotage” similar to those he alleged, without providing evidence, that the US was carrying out in Iran.
"By law, it is now permissible to carry out any type of attack, whether on US soil, against US interests across the world, and against actors related to the US,” he added.
"They themselves are now relaying to the world the message that they can do whatever they want. By the same token, everything goes. This impure man, this savage yellow dog, must pay the price, whether while in office or later on.”
Rahimpour-Azghadi’s comments came as Trump reportedly weighs up military intervention in Iran to stave off the regime’s brutal crackdown on mass protests against its rule, which are ongoing in all 31 of the country’s provinces and have entered their third week.
The official death toll has now reached 600, most of them civilian protestors, though some reports suggest the true figure may be in the thousands.
To get more news, click here to sign up for our free daily newsletter.