Regional War if US Attacks Iran: Warning from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

According to the semi-official Tasnim news agency, Khamenei emphasized that Americans must realize that starting a war now would set the entire region ablaze. His remarks come as a defiant response to the deployment of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea and statements from Donald Trump, asserting that such military posturing cannot intimidate the Iranian nation.

Simultaneously, Iran is scheduled to commence a two-day live-fire military exercise today, Sunday, in the strategic Strait of Hormuz. As a vital gateway through which one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passes, the strait remains a flashpoint where Tehran has previously threatened to block maritime traffic in the event of an attack. While the US has warned Iran against "unsafe and unprofessional behavior" near its forces, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi countered that the US cannot dictate how Iran conducts drills within its own territory. Amidst this geopolitical tension, human rights organizations have reported a grim internal situation, estimating that the death toll from security forces' crackdowns on recent protests could exceed 25,000.