US President Donald Trump has issued a fresh and severe warning to Iran amid continuing unrest and deadly protests across the country. Speaking in an interview with News Nation, Trump said that if violence or instability linked to Iran escalates further, the consequences would be devastating.
“I’ve left notification — if anything ever happens, the whole country is going to get blown up,” Trump said, responding to Iran’s recent warning of an “all-out war.” He added, “If anything happens, we’re going to wipe them off the face of the earth.”
Trump’s remarks come just days after he openly called for a regime change in the Islamic Republic, intensifying already strained relations between Washington and Tehran.
Iran, meanwhile, issued a sharp counter-warning on Tuesday, cautioning the US against taking any action against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “Trump knows that if any hand of aggression is extended toward our leader, we not only cut that hand but also we will set fire to their world,” Iranian armed forces spokesperson Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi said, as reported by the Associated Press.
Tehran’s response followed Trump’s comments to Politico, in which he referred to Khamenei as “a sick man who should run his country properly and stop killing people.”
The escalating war of words comes amid ongoing protests in Iran that began in late December, triggered by surging inflation and the sharp decline of the rial. According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, at least 4,519 people have been killed during the unrest, while more than 26,300 have been arrested.
While thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets demanding reforms and regime change, Iranian authorities have accused the US and Israel of fueling the protests and stirring unrest within the country.