The head of Iran's military threatened preemptive action over "rhetoric" targeting the country as the regime faces massive protests. Iran's Maj. Gen. Amir Hatami was likely responding to President
Donald Trump's warning that America would acTrump recently made it clear that the U.S. would step in if it saw that Iran was mistreating or killing protesters. The president wrote on Truth Social, "If Iran shoots [sic] and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go."
Hatami, who was speaking to military academy students, said,
"The
Islamic Republic considers the intensification of such rhetoric against the Iranian nation as a threat and will not leave its continuation without a response," according to The Associated Press, which cited the state-run IRNA news agency.
He added, "I can say with confidence that today the readiness of Iran’s armed forces is far greater than before the war. If the enemy commits an error, it will face a more decisive response, and we will cut off the hand of any aggressor."