KHAMENEI THREATENS WIDER CONFLICT AS US MILITARY PRESSURE MOUNTS

By: Abdul-Qoyyum Adeshola, Badmus.

Date: Sunday, 1st February, 2026 (13th Sha'ban, 1447 AH).

IRAN’S Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has warned that any military attack on Iran by the United States would ignite a wider regional conflict, amid increasing US military deployments to the Middle East ordered by President Donald Trump.

“They must know that if they initiate a war this time, it will turn into a regional war,” Khamenei said on Sunday (today) during a public address in central Tehran.

The 86-year-old leader, who has ruled Iran for nearly four decades, made the remarks at a ceremony marking the anniversary of the return of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini from exile in France in 1979—an event that paved the way for the Iranian Revolution and the eventual departure of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

Khamenei’s warning came as the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, along with fighter jets and naval destroyers, moved closer to the region following weeks of widespread anti-government protests in Iran. The unrest, which erupted in late December over the sharp depreciation of the Iranian rial, escalated into a direct challenge to Khamenei’s leadership.

Iranian authorities have described the protests as foreign-sponsored and subversive. Speaking at Sunday’s commemoration, Khamenei likened the demonstrations to an attempted coup.

“The recent sedition resembled a coup, and of course, it was crushed,” he said. “Their objective was to paralyse the country by targeting sensitive and vital institutions. That is why they attacked police stations, government offices, IRGC facilities, banks and mosques, and even burned copies of the Qur’an.”

Official Iranian media reported that 3,117 people were killed during the unrest, including 2,427 civilians and security personnel. However, US-based human rights groups have put the death toll at over 6,000. These figures could not be independently verified by Al Jazeera.

Since the nationwide protests, President Trump has repeatedly issued threats of military action against Iran. Initially, he tied the possibility of an attack to Tehran’s handling of the demonstrations but later shifted focus to Iran’s nuclear programme, calling for a new nuclear agreement.

In June, Iranian and US officials held indirect negotiations in Oman before Israel launched a 12-day military campaign against Iran. The United States later joined Israel in striking Iranian nuclear facilities.

Despite ongoing diplomatic signals, Khamenei struck a defiant note, accusing Washington of seeking control over Iran’s natural resources. “Their real motive is to plunder Iran’s oil and gas,” he said. “All other claims, including those about human rights, are nothing but empty slogans.”

Nevertheless, both Tehran and Washington have confirmed the existence of communication channels aimed at preventing a direct military confrontation.

On Saturday, President Trump said Iran was “seriously talking” with the United States, shortly after Ali Larijani, head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, announced Tehran’s readiness for dialogue.

Speaking aboard Air Force One, Trump said he believed Iran should accept an agreement that guarantees it would not acquire nuclear weapons, though he expressed uncertainty about whether Tehran would ultimately agree.

“They are talking to us,” Trump said. “They are seriously talking to us.”