Iran threatens wider war if Washington strikes

Iran escalated its warning to Washington on Sunday, threatening a regional war if the United States launches military action.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that if U.S. forces attack Iran, the fallout would spread across the Middle East, according to the semi-official Tasnim News Agency.

“The Americans should know that if they start a war, this time it will be a regional war,” the 86-year-old leader was quoted as saying.

Tehran has separately warned that any American military action ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump would trigger retaliation against Israel and American forces stationed across the region.

Trump last week increased the pressure on Iran by deploying a “massive armada” to the region to force Tehran to the bargaining table over a deal that would end its nuclear weapons program. “It is, ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfill its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

But Trump also said last week that Iran is “seriously talking” with Washington, hinting at ongoing diplomatic contacts even as tensions flare.

Europe was also singled out when Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, declared on Saturday that Tehran now considers all EU militaries to be terrorist groups. The move came after the EU designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terror organization over its violent suppression of nationwide protests.