After Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned the United States that any attack on the country would start a “regional war” in the Middle East, US President Donald Trump said that if Tehran did not strike a deal with Washington, he would find out if the Iranian leader was right about his warning.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also said Iran would not be intimidated by Trump’s threat to have ships in the Middle East. (AFP)Khamenei’s warning to Trump comes amid growing strain on Iran’s relationship with the United States. The Supreme Leader visited the shrine of Islamic Republic founder Ruhollah Khomeini in southern Tehran on Saturday in a rare public appearance. Follow live updates on Iran-US tensions
A day later, he responded to Trump’s threat of military strikes and said an attack would lead to a “regional war” in the Middle East. “The Americans should know that if they start a war, this time it will be a regional war,” Khamenei said.
“We are not provocateurs, we are not going to wrong anyone, we do not plan to attack any country. But if someone is greedy and wants to attack or harass, the Iranian nation will deal a heavy blow to them,” the Associated Press quoted Iran’s supreme leader as saying.
Khamenei also said Iran would not be intimidated by Trump’s threat to have ships in the Middle East, adding that Iranians would not be swayed by the threat.
Asked about the warning, Trump told reporters on Sunday that the US “has the biggest, most powerful ships in the world there, very close, in a few days, and hopefully we’ll make a deal”.
“If we don’t make a deal, we’ll find out if he (Khamenei) was right,” Trump added.
Trump recently sent the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and accompanying warships into the Arabian Sea near Iranian territory amid his warnings to Tehran to end its violent crackdown on protesters and strike a nuclear deal with Washington.
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While it is unclear whether the US president will use force, he has repeatedly claimed that Iran wants to negotiate and has highlighted Tehran’s nuclear program as another issue he wants to address.
Earlier on Saturday, Trump declined to comment on whether he had reached a decision on what he wanted to do about Iran. He also said Iran should negotiate a “satisfactory” deal to prevent the Middle Eastern country from getting any nuclear weapons, but added, “I don’t know that they will. But they’re talking to us. Seriously talking to us.”
Iranian protests and violent repressionThe US-based Human Rights Watch news agency reports that the violent crackdown on protesters in Iran has so far killed at least 6,713 people, and that authorities have detained 49,500.
The Iranian government says 3,117 people, including 2,427 civilians and security forces, have been killed as of January 21.
Also Read | ‘Can’t tell you but it’s huge…’: Donald Trump on plans to attack IranSupreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei called the nationwide protests a “coup”, hardening his stance on the protests.
“The recent sedition is similar to a coup. Of course, the coup was suppressed,” he said.
Khamenei also said, “Their goal was to destroy sensitive and effective centers involved in running the country, and for this reason they attacked police, government centers, (Revolutionary Guard) facilities, banks and mosques – and burned copies of the Quran. They targeted the centers that run the country.”
Treason charges in Iran are said to carry the death penalty, again raising fears of mass executions in Tehran — a red line for US President Donald Trump.
