President Donald Trump on Tuesday reiterated a stark warning that Iran would be wiped “off the face of this earth” if Tehran ever succeeded in assassinating a US leader.
In a heated exchange of threats, both Iran and the United States warned of large-scale war if the leaders of either country were targeted.
“I have very firm instructions. Anything happens, they’re going to wipe them off the face of this earth,” Trump said in a News Nation interview aired Tuesday, responding to a question about alleged Iranian threats against the 79-year-old US leader.
Earlier the same day, Iran also issued a sharp warning. In response to any threats against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iranian General Abolfazl Shekarchi said Trump already knew Tehran would not show restraint if the situation were reversed.
“Trump knows that if a hand of aggression is extended toward our leader, we will not only sever that hand, and this is not a mere slogan,” Shekarchi told Iranian state media.
“But we will set their world on fire and leave them no safe haven in the region.”
Trump had issued a similar warning to Iran about a year ago, shortly after returning to the White House, when he told reporters, “If they do it, they get obliterated.”
Meanwhile, Iran continues to face internal turmoil following some of the largest anti-government protests since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Human rights groups are still working to confirm casualty figures, with the Human Rights Activists News Agency reporting more than 4,000 confirmed deaths.
Mass demonstrations began in December over economic hardship, after Iran’s currency hit a new low under the leadership of the 86-year-old ayatollah, who has resisted democratic reforms for decades.
Many in Iran’s global diaspora, including exiled Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi, have called for international action against Tehran’s ruling apparatus. Ebadi urged “highly targeted actions” against Iran’s supreme leader and commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, further highlighting the growing international pressure on the Iranian leadership.
