Middle East tensions are rising as Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned on Sunday that any US attack would trigger a “regional war” in the Middle East, escalating tensions amid President Donald Trump’s threats of military action against the Islamic Republic.
According to the Associated Press news agency, Khamenei said on Iranian state television, “The Americans should know that if they start a war, this time it will be a regional war.”
The Iranian Supreme Leader was quoted as saying, “We are not the aggressors, and we do not want to attack any country. But the Iranian nation will respond decisively to anyone who attacks or harasses it.”
According to the AP, the 86-year-old Iranian leader’s remarks are the most direct threat yet in response to Trump’s deployment of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and other US warships to pressure Iran. This all comes amid the country’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests against the falling value of the Iranian currency and economic hardship in late December 2025.
Khamenei alleged a coup attempt as the death toll mounted. However, Khamenei has described the nationwide protests as a “coup.”
Khamenei further stated, “The recent riots were like a coup. Of course, the coup was suppressed,” adding, “Their goal was to destroy the sensitive and effective centers involved in running the country, and for this reason they attacked police, government centers, facilities, banks, and mosques – and burned copies of the Quran. They targeted the centers that run the country.”
In response, the Iranian government has detained thousands of protesters and, according to local health officials contacted by TIME, killed 30,000 people. The government says the death toll is slightly over 3,000, while the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRNA) has confirmed approximately 5,500 deaths.
Trump’s Next Move
Despite Trump’s threat of military action against Tehran in support of the protesters, it remains unclear whether the US president will resort to the use of force.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that Iran wants to negotiate, and the US president has called on Tehran to abandon its nuclear ambitions.
In his second term, Trump has already bombed Iran, with the US carrying out attacks on three nuclear facilities in the country: the Fordow uranium enrichment plant, the Natanz nuclear facility, and the Isfahan nuclear technology center. It remains to be seen what the US president will do next.
However, as of Saturday night, Trump declined to say whether he had made any decision regarding what to do about Tehran.