Ayatollah Khamenei: Any US-initiated war against Iran would become regional

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has warned that any war initiated by the United States against Iran would tur...

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has warned that any war initiated by the United States against Iran would turn into a regional war.

Addressing a large gathering of people at the Imam Khomeini Hussainiya on Saturday, the Leader said recent US rhetoric about war and military assets was nothing new.

“The Americans should know that if they start a war this time, it will be a regional war,” he said, stressing that threats and displays of military power will not intimidate the Iranian nation.

“Sometimes they talk about war and speak of aircraft and warships; this is not a new thing,” he said, recalling that US officials had repeatedly threatened Iran in the past by claiming that “all options are on the table, including the option of war.”

Referring to US President Donald Trump’s threats against Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei said, “The Iranian nation should not be frightened by these things; the people of Iran are not affected by such threats.”

He emphasized that Iran would not be the initiator of any war, but warned of a firm response to aggression.

“We are not the ones who start [a war], and we do not want to attack any country, but the Iranian nation will deliver a hard punch to anyone who attacks and harasses it,” he said.

In another part of his speech, the Leader described the recent riots across Iran as “similar to a coup,” saying the plot aimed at destroying sensitive and effective centers involved in running the country.

He said attackers targeted police stations, government centers, Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) facilities, banks, and mosques, and even set the Holy Quran on fire, noting that the attempt had ultimately been thwarted.

The Leader also said the Iranian people had reduced the flames of the recent American-Zionist sedition to ashes, just as they had defeated previous conspiracies, adding that the nation will decisively confront any future challenges as well.

Ayatollah Khamenei cited returning the country to its rightful owners—the people—and cutting off US influence from Iran as another defining characteristic of the Islamic Revolution, saying this feature angered and unsettled Washington and drove it, from the very beginning, into hostility toward the Iranian nation and system.

Referring to Iran’s advances in various fields, he said few would have believed that the Iranian nation would one day reach a point where Americans would copy weapons produced by Iran.

He said these achievements were the result of self-confidence, hope, and ambition instilled in the nation by Imam Khomeini, whom he described as a symbol of hope and self-belief who motivated the people toward effort and progress.

The Leader described remarks by the US president as a clear sign of the American and Zionist nature of the recent unrest, saying he openly encouraged what he called rioters by telling them, “Go forward, I am also coming.”

He said that in their view, a few thousand rioters represented the Iranian people, while the millions who rallied nationwide on January 12 were disregarded.

Ayatollah Khamenei said the Islamic Republic’s new way of thinking and its friction with the interests of global bullies explained the persistence of hostility, adding that just as the recent sedition was not the first in Tehran, it would not be the last, and similar incidents could recur.

Such enmities, he went on, would continue until the Iranian nation, through steadfastness and full control over its affairs, caused the enemy to despair.

Expressing regret over the success of ringleaders of the unrest in increasing the death toll, the Leader said one’s heart burns for the heedless young people who lost their lives.

The enemies sought to exaggerate casualty figures and wanted the toll to be even higher, he added, stressing that even the existing number was deeply regrettable.

He said the plotters aimed to pit the people against the system, but the nation’s mass turnout on January 12 “hit them in the mouth” and revealed the true face of the Iranian people.

Referring to the US president’s past admission of Washington’s role in creating Daesh, the Leader said Americans had created a Daesh-like force in the recent riots, which committed acts of extreme violence, including burning people alive and beheading them.

In concluding remarks, Ayatollah Khamenei said decades-long US hostility toward Iran “could be summed up in two words: America wants to devour Iran, but the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic stand in the way,” adding that Iran’s resources and strategic position fuel US ambitions, while claims such as human rights were “nonsense.”