Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei says his country 'will never surrender'

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday his country "will never surrender" as President Trump urged him to end reciprocal air strikes with Israel. 

"It isn’t wise to tell the Iranian nation to surrender," Khamenei posted on X. "What should the Iranian nation surrender to? We will never surrender in response to the attacks of anyone. This is the logic of the Iranian nation. This is the spirit of the Iranian nation."

Israel started the air strikes last week amid stalled negotiations between the U.S. and Iran over Tehran's pursuit of a nuclear weapon. 

"UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!" Trump called for on Tuesday. "We know exactly where the so-called 'Supreme Leader' is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there - We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"

"The US President threatens us," Khamenei wrote in another X post on Wednesday. "With his absurd rhetoric, he demands that the Iranian people surrender to him. They should make threats against those who are afraid of being threatened. The Iranian nation isn’t frightened by such threats."

The ayatollah also warned on Wednesday, "The US entering in this matter [war] is 100% to its own detriment. The damage it will suffer will be far greater than any harm that Iran may encounter."

Israel and Iran have been exchanging missile fire since Friday, when the former hit the latter's military and nuclear sites.

More than 500 have died in Iran, with injuries in the thousands, according to the group Human Rights Activist.

Trump and Israel Defense Forces have advised residents of Tehran to evacuate the capital city ahead of strikes.