White House answers Khamenei's "collapse" taunt: Iran goes "the easy way or the hard way," and Trump "holds all the cards"

The White House pushed back on Iran's supreme leader after he gloated over Republican losses in Tuesday's midterms, Fox News Digital reported Sunday.

Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen in public since the joint U.S.-Israeli strike that killed his father, Ali Khamenei, posted on X after the election: "The process of the US's collapse has accelerated."

A White House spokesperson told Fox News Digital: "The United States is in a very strong position with control of the Strait of Hormuz and the Iranian economy collapsing. Iran has been decimated, and things will go one of two ways; the easy way or the hard way. President Trump holds all the cards and will do whatever is best for the United States."

"Only President Trump knows what he will do and when," the spokesperson added.

Tehran has ramped up its anti-American rhetoric over the past week, according to the report, including a "Trump in a Cage" exhibit that staged a mock execution of the president to mark the anniversary of the 1979 seizure of the U.S. Embassy.