In a new strain in relations with the United States, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made a rare public appearance on Saturday when he visited the shrine of the Islamic Republic’s founder Ruhollah Khomeini in southern Tehran.
Iran’s Khamenei visited Ruhollah Khomeini’s tomb on Saturday. (AFP)A day later, he issued a fresh warning to the United States amid President Donald Trump’s threat of military strikes, saying an attack would trigger a “regional war” in the Middle East.
Follow live updates on Iran protests and tensions with the US here.”The Americans should know that if they start a war, this time it will be a regional war,” Khamenei was quoted as saying. His latest comments are seen as the most direct threat yet amid rising tensions with the US.
“(Trump) regularly says that he has brought ships (…) The Iranian nation will not be scared by these things, the Iranian people will not be moved by these threats,” Khamenei was quoted as saying by the news agency. Reuters.
He likened the recent protests in Iran to a “coup”, saying the “treason” was aimed at attacking the country’s governing centers.
Ahead of Khamenei’s latest warning to the United States, Trump said a possible “satisfactory” deal with Iran was under discussion. “You can make a settlement agreement that will be satisfactory, no nuclear weapons, and they should. But I don’t know that they will. They’re talking to us — talking to us seriously,” Trump said in a media briefing aboard Air Force One.
Trump vs. Khamenei over Iran protestsTrump and Khamenei have been locked in a war of words since protests against the Iranian regime gripped the Middle Eastern country in December. The US president publicly condemned the Khamenei-led crackdown on protesters.
He drew two red lines for military action: the killing of peaceful protesters or the possible mass execution of those detained in a major crackdown on demonstrations.
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Further fueling speculation of an imminent military conflict was the location of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and associated American warships in the Arabian Sea.
However, any U.S. escalation carries a serious risk of retaliation from Tehran, which is why many see Trump’s threat as Tehran’s attempt at negotiation.
The US Navy currently has six destroyers, one aircraft carrier and three littoral combat ships in the region.
How many people were killed in protests in Iran?Mass protests and demonstrations rocked Iran in December as people raised their voices against the Khamenei-led regime. The agitation was mainly triggered by Iran’s declining economy and the impoverished lifestyle of most of the country’s people.
While official figures put the death toll at 3,117, US-based rights group HRANA said recently that it had verified 6,713 deaths so far.
