Tehran (TDI): Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards on Thursday issued a sharp warning to the United States and Israel, saying their forces remain on the highest level of alert, even as US President Donald Trump claimed Tehran is signalling interest in renewed talks.
Speaking through state media, Revolutionary Guards commander Gen Mohammad Pakpour said Iran’s military stood fully prepared to respond to any threat, urging Washington and Tel Aviv to avoid what he called dangerous miscalculations.
“The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, along with the Iranian nation, has its finger on the trigger and is more ready than ever to carry out the orders of the supreme commander-in-chief,” Pakpour said, referring to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He added that Iran’s forces had learned lessons from what he described as the “12-day imposed war”.
Despite the heated rhetoric, indications of immediate US military action appeared to ease this week. Addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, President Trump said the United States had struck Iranian uranium enrichment facilities last year to block Tehran’s path to a nuclear weapon.
Read More: Netanyahu, Regional Allies Press Trump to Delay Iran Military Action
“We can’t let that happen,” Trump said, adding that Iran now appears willing to engage diplomatically. “Iran does want to talk, and we’ll talk,” he said. However, Iranian officials continued to issue warnings. Gen Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi, head of Iran’s joint command headquarters, said any US strike would make American interests, military bases and centres of influence legitimate targets.
Trump, meanwhile, reiterated a stark warning issued earlier this week, saying Iran’s leadership would face devastating consequences if there were any attempt on his life following a strike aimed at Khamenei.
Read More: Trump Warns of Strong Response if Iran Executes Protesters
The escalating rhetoric comes as Iran’s leadership grapples with the fallout from widespread protests that erupted in late December. Authorities have since crushed the demonstrations, accompanied by what internet monitor NetBlocks described as a nationwide internet shutdown now entering its second week. On Wednesday, officials released their first official casualty figure, stating that 3,117 people were killed during the unrest.
