Tensions between the United States and Iran remain high as the hardline government in Tehran renewed hostile rhetoric and threatened anti-government protesters with the "severest punishments," including potential executions.
Iranian President Massoud Pazekian - previously considered by many to be a relatively moderate among Iranian rulers - warned on Sunday that an attack on the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, would lead to "all-out 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 social media.
In a speech on Saturday, Khamenei praised Pezeshkian's role in suppressing recent demonstrations, acknowledging that "several thousand" people were killed during the protests.
US President Donald Trump has stood out among Western leaders in criticizing the Iranian regime for its brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters.
"New leadership" for Iran
Trump told Politico on Saturday that Khamenei was responsible for "totally destroying the country and using violence on levels never seen before" and said it was time to seek "new leadership" in Iran.
The latest challenge to the theocratic government erupted on December 28, 2025, when demonstrators took to the streets over Iran's struggling economy, which escalated into wider protests.
Trump initially warned that the US was "ready and armed" to act if Iranian security forces killed protesters. He later threatened to take "very strong action" if protesters in Iran were hanged, following reports of impending executions.
Trump later said he was postponing the strike after Iran canceled 800 executions, although Tehran did not confirm that number or indicate that the hangings had been permanently canceled.
The Norwegian Human Rights Group in Iran confirmed that security forces killed at least 3. deaths of protesters, while the US-based organization HRANA estimated the confirmed number of victims at 3.308 with more than 24.000 arrests. It added that another 4.382 cases were being investigated.
Various activist groups have stated that the number of victims is much higher, but the internet blockade has made it difficult to verify the information.
"The most severe" punishments
Iranian judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir suggested that executions could still be carried out.
"A series of actions have been identified as mohareb, which is among the most severe Islamic punishments," he said at a press conference on Sunday.
Mohareb, or waging war against God, is punishable by death under Iranian law.
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