United States President Donald Trump and Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (File photo)
United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday said America would wipe out Iran if the Islamic nation assassinates him.”I have very firm instructions — anything happens, they’re going to wipe them off the face of this earth,” Trump said in an interview on NewsNation’s “Katie Pavlich Tonight”.
Trump’s remark came hours after Iran warned him not to take any action against the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Earlier, the US president had called for an end to Khamenei’s nearly 40-year reign.”Trump knows that if any hand of aggression is extended toward our leader, we not only cut that hand but also we will set fire to their world,” General Abolfazl Shekarchi, a spokesperson for Iran’s armed forces, said, according to news agency AP.Earlier, in a weekend interview, Trump described Khamenei as a “sick man” and openly called for regime change. “It’s time to look for new leadership in Iran,” Trump told Politico, urging the leadership to “stop killing people.”Tensions between Washington and Tehran have been high since nationwide protests broke out on December 28, driven by Iran’s deepening economic crisis. The demonstrations were met with a harsh crackdown by authorities. Trump has said the United States has drawn two red lines: the killing of peaceful protesters and the risk of mass executions in the aftermath of the unrest.A government-imposed internet blackout since January 8 has made it difficult to verify the true scale of the violence. However, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said on Tuesday that at least 4,519 people have been killed.On Saturday, Khamenei acknowledged the bloodshed for the first time, saying “several thousand” had died, though he blamed the violence on US interference. His remarks marked the first public admission by Iran’s leadership of the scale of the casualties.Meanwhile, national police chief Gen Ahmad Reza Radan announced a three-day window for what he described as “deceived” youth to surrender, promising leniency for those who turn themselves in for their role in the unrest.
