Iran’s leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Sunday any U.S. attacks will lead to a regional war in the Middle East.
During a meeting in Tehran, Khamenei talked about the recent massive deployment of U.S. warships to the region, saying that the “Iranian nation must not be frightened by such things.”
“The people of Iran are not influenced by these threats,” Khamenei said in remarks reported on by state media.
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Iran, Khamenei went on to say, does not seek to attack any country, but will deliver “a firm punch to anyone who attacks or harasses it.”
Earlier this week, the U.S. positioned the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and a powerful strike group in the Arabian Sea. U.S. President Donald Trump called it a “massive Armada,” even larger than the one used to capture and arrest former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
“We have the biggest, most powerful ships in the world over there,” Trump said when asked about Khamenei’s comments.
He added that he hopes Iran and U.S. and Iran can agree to a deal over its nuclear program.
“If we don’t make a deal, then we’ll find out whether or not he was right,” Trump said.
Along with the nuclear deal, tensions between Iran and the U.S. have come to a head because of recent protests in the country — some of the largest seen in Iran in years. It started as a response to rising prices and economic instability, with people also demanding an end to clerical rule.
The U.S.-based Iran Human Rights Activist News Agency wrote that 6,713 protestors have been killed in the regimes’ “violent crackdown” on nationwide demonstrations, though Iran’s government only acknowledges 3,117. Iran is still under heavy internet restrictions, as part of a government-enacted blackout, and there’s a huge security presence in major cities, IHRANA wrote.
Trump called for new leadership in Iran amid the protests, saying in an interview with Politico that “[Khamenei] is a sick man who should run his country properly and stop killing people.”
“His country is the worst place to live anywhere in the world because of poor leadership,” Trump said.
Despite Khamenei’s recent statements and rising tensions, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview on CNN Sunday that he’s “confident that we can achieve a deal” with the U.S.
He acknowledged that Iran’s officials “lost our trust (in) the US as a negotiating partner.” Still, he told CNN, the exchange of messages being facilitated by other countries in the region has been “fruitful.”
Though he would not make a promise that Iran would talk directly with U.S. negotiators, Araghchi said they need to address the “substance of negotiations,” and not the form.
