US President Donald Trump responded to Iran’s threats on Tuesday. He said the United States would wipe out the country led by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei if it assassinated him, marking a sharp escalation in the war of words between the two nations.
In an interview that aired Jan. 20 on NewsNation’s “Katie Pavlich Tonight,” Trump said, “I have very firm instructions — whatever happens, they’re going to wipe them off the face of this earth.”
The statement came in response to a warning to the US by the spokesman of the Iranian Armed Forces, General Abolfazl Shekarchi. Iran warned the 79-year-old US leader on Tuesday to refrain from any action against the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “Trump knows that if any hand of aggression is laid against our leader, we will not only cut it, but also set their world on fire,” AFP quoted General Abolfazl Shekarchi as saying.
Trump calls Khamenei a ‘sick man’
On January 17, Trump called the 86-year-old Iranian leader a “sick man” and a failed ruler after Khamenei called him a “criminal” and accused him of murdering thousands of protesters in Tehran. Iran has accused the US president of inciting deadly violence and unrest in their country. A few days ago, in an interview with Politico, Trump said, “It’s time to look for new leadership in Iran,” claiming that “a sick man who should run his country properly and stop killing people.”
The development comes after Trump earlier called for an end to the 37-year rule of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Trump has accused Iran’s leadership of relying on repression while calling for new leadership in the Middle Eastern country.
The two arch-rivals have traded political barbs in recent days since the first protests that erupted in Iran on December 28 over economic slowdown and stagnation. As for the potential assassination bid, Trump has previously said he ordered his advisers to wipe out Iran.
According to figures released by the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, as many as 4,519 protesters have died in the recent unrest. In addition, Iranian authorities detained nearly 26,300 people in connection with nationwide demonstrations against economic hardship.
The US Navy’s USS Abraham Lincoln sailed through the Malacca Strait in recent days, according to ship tracking data, the AP reported. The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier was previously deployed in the South China Sea, but on Tuesday entered the key waterway linking the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean amid instability in the region.
