Iranian army chief Amir Hatami on Saturday warned the United States and Israel against an attack, saying his country’s forces were on high alert after Washington’s heavy military deployments in the Gulf.
“If the enemy makes a mistake, without a doubt it will endanger its own security, the security of the region, and the security of the Zionist regime,” said Hatami, according to the official IRNA news agency, noting that Iran’s armed forces were “at full defensive and military readiness”.
The warning came as the region prepared for a potential US strike on Iran, with the United States bolstering its military presence in the Middle East, including the deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and other assets.
Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump said a “massive armada” was heading towards the Islamic Republic.
Trump warned that “time is running out” for the country, and referenced air strikes carried out against Iranian nuclear sites in June 2025.
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The Trump administration has toyed with attacking Iran for nearly a month on the pretext of the brutal crackdown on demonstrators that has seen thousands killed by government security forces.
Middle East Eye reported on Monday that Trump was considering precision strikes on “high-value” Iranian officials and commanders it deemed responsible for the deaths of protesters during anti-government demonstrations earlier this month.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Saturday that US, Israeli and European leaders had exploited Iran’s economic problems, incited unrest and provided people with the means to “tear the nation apart” in recent protests.
“Everyone knows that the issue was not just a social protest,” he added.
The two-week nationwide protests, which erupted in late December amid an economic crisis marked by soaring inflation and rising living costs, have subsided following a deadly crackdown by authorities.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported that at least 6,563 people were killed during the unrest, including 6,170 protesters and 214 members of the security forces.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, however, told CNN Turk that 3,100 people were killed, including 2,000 security personnel.
Regional allies such as Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia have stepped up diplomatic efforts to prevent a military confrontation between the US and Iran.
Washington is demanding that Tehran curb its ballistic missile programme as a precondition for renewed talks, a demand Iran has rejected.
Speaking in Turkey, which has positioned itself as a key negotiator, on Friday, Araqchi said that Iran’s defence capabilities and missile programme would never be the subject of any negotiations.
The foreign minister said there had been no contact yet between Tehran and Washington about “plans or a programme for talks”, but added, “We are ready for a just, fair and equitable negotiation.”
Trump on Thursday said he was planning to talk with Iran and that there were some “very powerful ships sailing to Iran right now, and it would be great if we didn’t have to use them”.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
