Iran threatened to wage “all-out war” if Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was targeted after President Donald Trump voiced support for regime change in Tehran.
The newest threat from Iran came from one of the most centrist figures in the regime, the reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian. He began his threat by blaming the recent “hardship” faced by the Iranian people on the United States.
“If the people of #Iran face hardship and difficulties in their lives, one of the main reasons for it is the longstanding enmity and inhumane sanctions imposed by the United States government and its allies,” he said. “Any aggression against the Supreme Leader of our country is tantamount to all-out war against the Iranian nation.”
The words are a rare departure from the usually conciliatory rhetoric of Pezeshkian, one of the more liberal-minded figures of the regime, who has been pushed into defending the increasingly brutal response of the government to recent protests.
His remarks came after Trump’s threatening comments against Iran to Politico, in which he said it was “time to look for new leadership in Iran.”
“The man is a sick man who should run his country properly and stop killing people,” Trump added, referring to Khamenei. “His country is the worst place to live anywhere in the world because of poor leadership.”
While threats are rare from Pezeshkian, Iran’s supreme leader has been issuing them almost daily since massive protests broke out on Dec. 28. Khamenei has repeatedly blamed Israel and the United States for fomenting the protests, which broke out in response to deteriorating economic conditions.
“The US had made extensive preparations to orchestrate this sedition. This sedition was a prelude to even bigger schemes. The Iranian nation defeated the US,” he said in a post on X, adding that the U.S. must be held “accountable.”
“We do not intend to lead the country toward war. However, we will not just let go of the criminals inside the country either. Worse than the internal criminals are the international criminals! We will not let go of them either,” Khamenei added.
Tensions have remained high between the U.S. and Iran since the protests broke out, with Trump threatening intervention if Tehran cracked down on protesters. An internet blackout has made it difficult to parse the exact details, but human rights groups have estimated that anywhere from 500 to over 12,000 protesters were killed in the ensuing crackdown.
