Iran has accused US President, Donald Trump of conjuring up an imaginary threat to frighten Americans, after his remarks about Los Angeles and San Diego at a rally last week set off a political storm in California.

Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baghaei responded in a post on X on Saturday, saying Washington was inventing an imaginary enemy in the sky to distract from the real danger on the ground. Describing Trump’s comments as a textbook example of the politics of fear, he said the real threat lies neither beyond America’s borders nor over the two California cities, but in a ruling establishment that has imposed an illegal war on the world with global consequences.

Baghaei was reacting to a campaign rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, on Monday, where Trump discussed rising fuel prices linked to the war and said Iran could “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego, calling that a very small price to pay as he predicted the conflict would be over soon.

The comments drew sharp criticism from California leaders. Governor Gavin Newsom accused the president of inviting foreign enemies to attack American cities, while San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said his city was not collateral damage and should be kept out of what he called reckless war talk.

The White House pushed back on how the remarks were reported. Trump later said on Truth Social that he had been referring to a temporary rise in petrol prices being a small price to pay for stopping Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, adding that the real price would be far bigger if the two cities were ever bombed.

The row comes as Trump campaigns ahead of the November midterm elections while the war with Iran remains one of the most contentious issues in American politics. Los Angeles is home to one of the largest Iranian diaspora communities in the United States, and San Diego hosts major US naval assets, which has made the comments particularly sensitive in both cities.