Just when it appeared that US President Donald Trump may have been reconsidering his possible military intervention in Iran following repeated warnings over the killings of anti-government protesters, his remarks about an American “armada”, including an aircraft carrier strike group is moving towards the Islamic nation, have reignited tensions in Tehran.
Reacting to the US military buildup, Iran has warned that if Americans violate its airspace, it will consider it an “all-out war” and respond in the “hardest way possible”.
“This time we will treat any attack – limited, unlimited, surgical, kinetic, whatever they call it – as an all-out war against us, and we will respond in the hardest way possible to settle this,” an Iranian official was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.
The unnamed official further stated that while Tehran hopes the buildup is not intended for real confrontation, the Iranian military is ready for the worst-case scenario.
“This is why everything is on high alert in Iran,” said the Iranian official, adding, “If the Americans violate Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, we will respond.”
On Thursday, Trump told reporters onboard his Air Force One that the US has a big force going towards Iran.
“We’re watching Iran… you know we have a lot of ships going that direction just in case… we have a big flotilla going in that direction and we’ll see what happens… we have a big force going towards Iran… I’d rather not see anything happening… we have an armada, a massive fleet heading in that direction,” Trump had said.
According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), as many as 5,137 protesters have been killed in a violent crackdown against the anti-government protesters in Iran since December 28.
As the protests entered its 28th day, some 12,904 cases of death are under review. Some unconfirmed estimates have put the death toll above 20,000.
In addition, the HRANA said that at least 7,402 people have sustained serious injuries during the protests. More than 27,000 protesters have been arrested so far.