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Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warned on Sunday that any U.S. military attack on Iran would trigger a regional war, as tensions continue to rise amid protests and military posturing.
The remarks came as U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened military options over Iran’s handling of nationwide protests.
Khamenei’s comments marked his strongest warning since the deployment of the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and accompanying warships near Iran, a move ordered by Trump following a violent crackdown on protests.
Khamenei accused the United States of seeking control over Iran’s oil, natural gas and mineral resources and said Washington wanted to dominate the country as it had in the past.
“If the Americans start a war this time, it will be a regional war,” Khamenei said, adding that Iran was not the aggressor but would respond forcefully to any attack or provocation.
Trump responded by pointing to the presence of what he described as the world’s largest and most powerful warships in the region, saying he hoped for an agreement but warned of consequences if talks fail.
Protests in Iran began on Dec. 28 following the collapse of the national currency, the rial, amid worsening economic conditions, and later evolved into demonstrations directly targeting Khamenei’s rule.
Khamenei described the protests as an attempted coup, as the government intensified its response. Unofficial figures suggest tens of thousands of people have been detained since the protests began. Charges related to “sedition” in Iran can carry the death penalty.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported that more than 49,000 people were detained and at least 6,700 were killed. Iranian authorities said as of Jan. 21 that 3,117 people were killed, labeling some of the dead as “terrorists.”
Trump has said Iran is seeking negotiations and has identified Tehran’s nuclear program as a key issue.
Iran is also reported to be planning a live-ammunition military exercise in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, through which about one-fifth of global oil trade passes.
The U.S. Central Command warned that U.S. ships and aircraft should not be threatened during the drill and that commercial maritime traffic should not be disrupted.
Separately, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Iran now considers all European Union armies to be “terrorist organizations” in response to the EU’s designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist group.
Ghalibaf and several lawmakers attended a parliamentary session wearing Revolutionary Guard uniforms, where chants of “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” were heard.
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