Iran's supreme leader warns any US attack would spark 'regional war'
[February 02, 2026]
By JON GAMBRELL
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran's supreme leader warned Sunday
that any attack by the United States would spark a “regional war” in the
Mideast, further escalating tensions as President Donald Trump has
threatened to militarily strike the Islamic Republic over its crackdown
on recent nationwide protests.
The comments from the 86-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei are the
most-direct threat he’s made so far as the aircraft carrier USS Abraham
Lincoln and associated American warships are in the Arabian Sea, sent by
Trump there after Tehran's bloody crackdown on nationwide protests.
It remains unclear whether Trump will use force. He's repeatedly said
Iran wants to negotiate and has brought up Tehran's nuclear program as
another issue he wants to see resolved.
But Khamenei also referred to the nationwide protests as “a coup,”
hardening the government's position as tens of thousands of people
reportedly have been detained since the start of the demonstrations.
Sedition charges in Iran can carry the death penalty, which again renews
concerns about Tehran carrying out mass executions for those arrested —
a red line for Trump.
Iran had also planned a live-fire military drill for Sunday and Monday
in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf
through which a fifth of all oil traded passes. The U.S. military's
Central Command had warned against threatening American warships or
aircraft during the drill or disrupting commercial traffic.
Khamenei warns US
Khamenei spoke to a crowd at his compound in Tehran as Iran marked the
start of a dayslong commemoration of the country's 1979 Islamic
Revolution. He, at one point, described the U.S. as being interested in
its oil, natural gas and other mineral resources, saying that they
wanted to “seize this country, just as they controlled it before.”
“The Americans must be aware that if they wage a war this time, it will
be a regional war," he said.
The supreme leader added that: "We are not the instigators, we are not
going to be unfair to anyone, we don’t plan to attack any country. But
if anyone shows greed and wants to attack or harass, the Iranian nation
will deal a heavy blow to them.”
Asked about the warning, Trump on Sunday told reporters that the U.S.
“has the biggest, most powerful ships in the world over there, very
close, a couple of days, and hopefully we’ll make a deal. If we don’t
make a deal, then we’ll find out whether or not he was right.”
Khamenei also hardened his position on the demonstrations after earlier
acknowledging some people had legitimate economic grievances that
sparked their protests. The demonstrations began Dec. 28, initially over
the collapse of Iran's rial currency. It soon grew into a direct
challenge to Khamenei's rule.
“The recent sedition was similar to a coup. Of course, the coup was
suppressed," he said. “Their goal was to destroy sensitive and effective
centers involved in running the country, and for this reason they
attacked the police, government centers, (Revolutionary Guard)
facilities, banks and mosques — and burned copies of the Quran. They
targeted centers that run the country.”
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists New Agency, which relies on a
network inside Iran to verify its information, reports that over 49,500
people have been detained in the crackdown. It says the violence killed
at least 6,713 people, the vast majority of them demonstrators. The
Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the death toll
and arrest figures, given authorities have cut Iran's internet off from
the rest of the world.
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In this handout photo released by the Islamic Consultative Assembly
News Agency (ICANA) Iranian lawmakers chant slogans as they wear the
Revolutionary Guard's uniform in a session of parliament, in Tehran,
Iran, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. (Hamed Malekpour/ICANA via AP)
As of Jan. 21, Iran’s government put the death toll at a far lower
3,117, saying 2,427 were civilians and security forces, labeling the
rest “terrorists.” In the past, Iran’s theocracy has undercounted or
not reported fatalities from unrest.
That death toll exceeds that of any other round of protest or unrest
in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the 1979
revolution.
Parliament speaker says EU militaries considered terrorist
groups.
The speaker of Iran's parliament, meanwhile, said that the Islamic
Republic now considers all European Union militaries to be terrorist
groups, lashing out after the bloc declared the country's
paramilitary Revolutionary Guard a terror group over taking part in
the bloody crackdown.
Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, a former Guard commander, announced the
terror designation, which will likely be mostly symbolic. Iran has
used a 2019 law to reciprocally declare other nations' militaries
terror groups following the United States declaration of the Guard a
terror group that year.
Qalibaf made the announcement as he and others in parliament wore
Guard uniforms in support of the force. The Guard, which also
controls Iran's ballistic missile arsenal and has vast economic
interests in Iran, answers only to Khamenei.
“By seeking to strike at the (Guard), which itself has been the
greatest barrier to the spread of terrorism to Europe, Europeans
have in fact shot themselves in the foot and, once again, through
blind obedience to the Americans, decided against the interests of
their own people," Qalibaf said.
Lawmakers at the session later chanted: “Death to America!” and
“Death to Israel!” at the session.
Trump says Iran is ‘seriously talking' to US
Trump has laid out two red lines for military action: the killing of
peaceful protesters or the possible mass execution of those detained
in a major crackdown over the demonstrations. He's increasingly
begun discussing Iran's nuclear program as well, which the U.S.
negotiated over with Tehran in multiple sessions before Israel
launched a 12-day war with Iran back in June.
The U.S. bombed three Iranian nuclear sites during the war. Activity
at two of the sites suggests Iran may be trying to obscure the view
of satellites as it tries to salvage what remains there.
Trump on Saturday night declined to say whether he’d made a decision
on what he wanted to do regarding Iran.
Speaking to reporters, Trump sidestepped a question about whether
Tehran would be emboldened if the U.S. backed away from launching
strikes on Iran, saying, “Some people think that. Some people
don’t.”
Trump said Iran should negotiate a “satisfactory” deal to prevent
the Middle Eastern country from getting any nuclear weapons, but
said, “I don’t know that they will. But they are talking to us.
Seriously talking to us.”
___
Associated Press writer Will Weissert in Palm Beach, Florida,
contributed to this report.
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