Dubai, Jan 21: Iran on Tuesday warned US President Donald Trump against taking any action against the country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, days after Trump called for an end to Khamenei’s nearly four‑decade rule.
“Trump knows that if any hand of aggression is extended toward our leader, we will not only cut that hand but also set their world on fire,” said Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi, spokesperson for Iran’s armed forces.
The warning followed Trump’s remarks in an interview with Politico on Saturday, in which he described Khamenei as “a sick man who should run his country properly and stop killing people,” adding that “it’s time to look for new leadership in Iran.”
Tensions between the United States and Iran have remained high since Iranian authorities launched a violent crackdown on protests that erupted on December 28 over the country’s worsening economic conditions. Trump has drawn two red lines for Tehran — the killing of peaceful protesters and the carrying out of mass executions in response to the demonstrations.
Meanwhile, the USS Abraham Lincoln, which had been operating in the South China Sea in recent days, passed through the Strait of Malacca — a key maritime route linking the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean — by Tuesday, according to ship‑tracking data.
A US Navy official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the aircraft carrier and three accompanying destroyers were heading west. Although defence officials stopped short of confirming that the carrier strike group was bound for the Middle East, its current position and trajectory in the Indian Ocean suggest it could reach the region within days.
This would not be the first time in recent years that a US carrier strike group deployed in the Pacific has been redirected to the Middle East amid regional instability. The Abraham Lincoln was rerouted to the region in 2024, while the USS Nimitz strike group was ordered there last June.
According to the US‑based Human Rights Activists News Agency, the death toll from the protests has reached at least 4,519. The group, which relies on a network of activists inside Iran, has tracked fatalities during previous unrest. The Associated Press has not independently verified the figures.
The reported death toll surpasses that of any other protest movement in Iran in decades and recalls the turmoil surrounding the 1979 revolution that led to the establishment of the Islamic Republic. Although protests have subsided in recent days, concerns persist that casualties could rise as information continues to emerge from the country, where a government‑imposed internet shutdown has been in place since January 8.
On Saturday, Khamenei acknowledged that the protests had resulted in “several thousand” deaths and blamed the United States, marking the first time an Iranian leader publicly indicated the scale of the casualties.
More than 26,300 people have been arrested, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency. Statements by Iranian officials have heightened fears that some detainees could face execution, as Iran remains one of the world’s leading countries in carrying out capital punishment.
National police chief Gen. Ahmad Reza Radan said individuals who surrender voluntarily would receive more lenient treatment than those who do not.
“Those who were deceived by foreign intelligence services and became their agents have an opportunity to turn themselves in,” Radan said in an interview broadcast on state television on Monday. “If they surrender, there will definitely be a reduction in punishment. They have three days to turn themselves in.”
He did not specify what action would be taken after the three‑day deadline. (Agencies)
