Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is warning there will be a “regional war” in the Middle East if the United States attacks Iran in the latest escalation between the two countries.
“The Americans must be aware that if they wage a war this time, it will be a regional war,” the Iranian supreme leader said on Sunday.
“We are not the instigators, we are not going to be unfair to anyone, we don’t plan to attack any country,” he added. “But if anyone shows greed and wants to attack or harass, the Iranian nation will deal a heavy blow to them.”
OPINION: AMERICA’S ALLIES MUST CHOOSE SIDES
The serious warning follows last week’s deployment of American warships, led by the USS Abraham Lincoln, en route to regional waters near Iran. President Donald Trump repeatedly threatened to use military force if the Iranian regime didn’t stop killing anti-government protesters.
He hopes Khamenei will make a “fair and equitable” nuclear weapons deal that will be “good for all parties.” Otherwise, Iran will face an attack “far worse” than “Operation Midnight Hammer.” That operation targeted Iranian nuclear facilities last June.
“We do have very big, powerful ships heading in that direction, as you know. But I hope they negotiate something that’s acceptable,” Trump told reporters about the possibility of a negotiated nuclear weapons deal aboard Air Force One late Saturday.
A full-scale attack on Iran could be imminent as U.S. aircraft carriers have arrived in the Middle East. The USS Abraham Lincoln was last reported sailing in waters near the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman, directly south of Iran.
Trump has promised to help rescue the country’s persecuted protesters as thousands died.
At least 6,700 Iranians have been confirmed dead, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists New Agency. However, the Iranian government says only about 3,100 people, most of whom were civilians and security forces, died during the nationwide protests. It labeled the rest “terrorists.”
Other reported estimates put the death toll at 30,000 people. There is growing suspicion that Iran underreported the total count, prompting calls within the country for an independent investigation into the number of people killed in the past month.
Khamenei is doubling down on his regime’s crackdown, calling the mass protests an attempted “coup.”
“The recent sedition was similar to a coup. Of course, the coup was suppressed,” he said. “Their goal was to destroy sensitive and effective centers involved in running the country, and for this reason they attacked the police, government centers, [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] facilities, banks, and mosques — and burned copies of the Quran. They targeted centers that run the country.”
THREATS, MILITARY BUILDUPS, AND NEGOTIATING OFFERS: TRUMP’S NATIONAL SECURITY PLAYBOOK
Meanwhile, Iran is also facing pushback from the European Union after the 27-nation bloc designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization. The move is meant to punish Iran for killing and detaining a number of protesters.
Responding in kind, Iran handed down its own terrorist designation to all EU militaries. Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf announced the retaliatory action on Sunday, claiming EU member states “shot themselves in the foot” and “decided against the interests of their own people” by following America’s lead in targeting Iran.