Tehran, Feb 1 (EFE).– Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, said on Sunday that threats from the United States do not frighten the Iranian people, warning that any conflict would lead to a regional war.
“The Americans should know that if they start a war, this time it will be a regional war,” Khamenei said.
He was speaking during a meeting with thousands of people on the anniversary of the historic return of the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, to Iran from exile, 10 days before the triumph of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Iran’s highest political and religious authority assured that his country will not start a conflict, but “will strike a firm blow against anyone who attacks it,” referring to the US.
The US has deployed a large fleet near Iranian waters in the Persian Gulf and has threatened to start a war if it does not reach an agreement with Tehran on its nuclear program.
Khamenei stressed that the American threats do not frighten Iran. “This gentleman (US President Donald Trump) constantly claims that they have sent aircraft carriers and so on. The Iranian people cannot be intimidated by these threats.”
The Iranian leader denounced that the anti-government protests that took place in Iran between Dec. 28 and Jan. 11 were an attempted coup, aimed at destroying strategic centers of the country’s administration.
“That’s why they attacked the police, government centers, the Revolutionary Guard forces, banks and mosques, and even burned the Quran. They attacked the centers that administer the country. This resembled a coup,” he said.
Khamenei had previously described the demonstrations as riots and terrorist acts, blaming the US and Israel for them, and ordered a harsh crackdown on the protesters.
More than 3,100 people were killed during the protests, according to the official count.
The US-based opposition NGO HRANA, however, puts the death toll at 6,713 and says it is investigating 17,000 reports of killings.
In response to this wave of repression, Trump threatened military intervention and has deployed a fleet led by the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, along with its escort group, to the Middle East.
However, in recent days he has stated that his goal is to reach an agreement with Iran on its nuclear program.
“Iran is negotiating with us, and we’ll see if we can do something. Otherwise, we’ll see what happens,” Trump said last night.
For his part, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Saturday, during a phone call with his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, that “a war would not benefit Iran, the United States, or the region.”
Tehran has expressed its willingness to participate in a “meaningful, logical, and fair” diplomatic process with the US on the nuclear issue, but rejects any negotiations on its missile systems and military capabilities, as has been proposed by Washington. EFE
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