Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says that any attack on the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, would be a declaration of war.
“An attack on the great leader of our country is tantamount to a full-scale war with the Iranian nation,” Pezeshkian said in a post on X.
The statement comes a day after US President Donald Trump called Khamenei a “sick man” in an interview with Politico, and said, “It’s time to look for new leadership in Iran.”
It appeared to be the first time Trump called for the end of Khamenei’s rule in Iran.
In his post, Pezeshkian blames the US and its allies for the hardship experienced by Iranians. Protests that began last month over economic difficulties mushroomed into mass demonstrations against the regime. Thousands were reported killed in the protests.
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