US President Donald Trump said on Sunday he remained hopeful of reaching an agreement with Iran, despite the country’s supreme leader warning that any American attack on the Islamic Republic would ignite a regional war.
The comments came amid heightened tensions following Iran’s deadly crackdown on anti-government protests that peaked last month. In response, Trump has threatened military action and ordered the deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, described the recent unrest as a “coup” and warned that any US military action would trigger widespread conflict across the region.
“The Americans should know that if they start a war, this time it will be a regional war,” Khamenei said on Sunday, urging Iranians “not to be afraid” of Trump’s rhetoric.
He accused protesters of attacking police stations, government buildings, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) facilities, banks and mosques, and of burning copies of the Quran. “It was like a coup,” he said, adding that it had been “suppressed”.
Asked about Khamenei’s warning, Trump told reporters, “Of course he is going to say that.
“Hopefully we’ll make a deal. If we don’t make a deal, then we’ll find out whether or not he was right,” he added.
The protests initially began over rising living costs before evolving into a nationwide anti-government movement. Iran’s leadership has repeatedly described the demonstrations as “riots” instigated by the United States and Israel.
On Sunday, Iranian authorities released 26-year-old protester Erfan Soltani on bail, according to his lawyer, after Washington warned he was on death row and threatened military action if any protesters were executed.
Soltani had been arrested in January on charges of propaganda against Iran’s Islamic system and acting against national security. While the United States claimed he faced execution, Tehran denied this, saying he had never been sentenced to death and that the charges did not carry the death penalty.
As tensions escalated, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday he was concerned about the risk of “miscalculations”, but believed Trump was “wise enough to make the correct decision”.
He said Iran had lost trust in the United States as a negotiating partner, adding that some regional countries were acting as intermediaries to rebuild confidence.
“I see the possibility of further talks if the US negotiating team follows what President Trump has said — to reach a fair and equitable deal to ensure there are no nuclear weapons,” Araghchi said in an interview with CNN.
‘Terrorist’ designations
Iranian authorities have acknowledged thousands of deaths during the protests. On Sunday, the presidency published a list of 2,986 names from the 3,117 people it said were killed, adding that 131 victims had yet to be identified.
Officials insist most of the dead were members of the security forces or innocent bystanders, blaming the violence on “terrorist acts”.
However, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said it had confirmed 6,842 deaths, the majority of whom were protesters.
In response to the crackdown, the European Union designated the IRGC as a terrorist organisation. Iranian lawmakers retaliated on Sunday by applying the same designation to European armed forces.
During a parliamentary session, lawmakers wore green IRGC uniforms in a show of solidarity, chanting “Death to America”, “Death to Israel” and “Shame on you, Europe”, according to state television footage.
It remains unclear what immediate impact the decision will have. Similar terrorist designations have already been imposed by the United States, Canada and Australia.
Threats and dialogue
Firouzeh, a 43-year-old homemaker who declined to give her full name, said the rising tensions had left her “very worried and frightened”.
“All I do is watch the news until I fall asleep. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night to check for updates,” she said.
IRGC official Ahmad Vahidi said “enemies” were attempting to create a “war atmosphere”, according to the Mehr news agency.
Meanwhile, Ali Larijani, head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said on Saturday that “despite the media hype, structural arrangements for negotiations are progressing”.
Trump also confirmed that talks were under way, though he did not withdraw his earlier threats, saying only, “We’ll see what happens.”
The US president has previously said he believes Iran would choose to negotiate over its nuclear and missile programmes rather than face military action.
Tehran, for its part, has said it is open to nuclear talks, provided its missile and defensive capabilities are excluded from the agenda.
