Iranian President Pezeshkian, in a post on X, said Iran’s response “to any unjust aggression will be harsh and regrettable”, adding that any strike on Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would be “tantamount to an all-out war against the Iranian nation”.
Amid rising tensions with Washington, Iran warned that targeting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would trigger an all-out war, as Tehran hinted it may resume executions following reports from an Iranian official that at least 5,000 people have been killed during the unrest.
In a post on X, President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran’s response “to any unjust aggression will be harsh and regrettable”, adding that any strike on Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would be “tantamount to an all-out war against the Iranian nation”.
Pezeshkian’s remarks came in response to US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly warned of possible intervention if protesters continued to be killed or executed. In an interview with Politico on Saturday, Trump said, “It’s time to look for new leadership in Iran”.
The Iranian President also blamed the US and its allies for Iran’s economic hardships, saying in a social media post that long-standing hostility and inhumane sanctions were a major cause of the difficulties faced by the Iranian people.
Despite the sharp rhetoric, on Friday, Trump thanked Iran’s leaders in a social media post, saying they had halted scheduled executions of 800 detainees. He has moved US military assets into the region but has not detailed what steps Washington may take.
Iran’s leadership pushed back a day later, with Khamenei branding Trump as a “criminal” and acknowledging “several thousand deaths”, blaming the violence on US and Israel-backed terrorists and rioters.
PROTESTS SPREAD NATIONWIDE
The protests erupted last month in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar over economic grievances before quickly turning political and spreading across the country. The protests brought shopkeepers, students, men and women onto the streets, cutting across income levels, with crowds openly calling for an end to clerical rule.
Authorities cut internet access and flooded streets with security forces as protests escalated. While demonstrations eased last week after a violent crackdown, reports of deaths, arrests and abuses have continued.
IRAN SIGNALS POSSIBLE EXECUTIONS
Iran’s judiciary indicated on Sunday that executions linked to the unrest could still go ahead. Judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir said certain acts had been classified as “Mohareb”, an Islamic legal term meaning waging war against God, which carries the death penalty under Iranian law.
“A series of actions have been identified as Mohareb, which is among the most severe Islamic punishments,” Jahangir said as quoted by Reuters.
An Iranian official told the news agency that the verified death toll was unlikely to “increase sharply”, while again accusing “Israel and armed groups abroad” of supporting protesters. Iran’s clerical leadership repeatedly blames unrest on foreign enemies.
Internet monitoring group NetBlocks said brief internet access restored on Saturday was later cut again.
An Iranian official said some of the heaviest fighting and highest death tolls were recorded in Kurdish regions in north-western Iran, areas that have seen repeated unrest in the past. Three sources told Reuters earlier this month that armed Kurdish separatist groups had attempted to cross into Iran from Iraq.
Videos circulating online show security forces using force to disperse crowds across several cities.
With inputs from agencies
