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Iran’s parliamentary national security commission said any attack on the country’s supreme leader would amount to a declaration of war on the Muslim world, state media reported on Tuesday.
“Any affront to the Supreme Leader means a declaration of war against the entire Islamic world and should expect the issuance of jihad rulings by Islamic scholars and a response from the soldiers of Islam across the globe,” the commission said in a statement.
The comments came as tensions rose following remarks by US President Donald Trump about Iran’s leadership.
Separately, senior Iranian military official Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi issued a warning to Washington.
“If a hand is raised against our leader, we will cut it off,” Shekarchi was quoted as saying by Iranian media, adding that Iran would leave “no safe place” for its enemies.
Trump recently called Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei a “sick man” and said it was time for new leadership in Iran.
Witnesses in the southern Iranian city of Marvdasht, in Fars province, have told Iran International that streets and alleys are lined with memorial displays and banners for those killed in recent unrest.
According to information received on Tuesday, the city has fallen into what witnesses described as a state of collective mourning following a heavy security crackdown.
Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB said authorities cut off around 40,000 Starlink satellite internet connections as part of efforts to halt what it described as “US-Israeli terrorist operations” inside the country.
In a report aired on Tuesday, IRIB linked the move to Iran’s nationwide internet blackout, saying satellite-based connections had been used by what it called hostile networks.
The broadcaster portrayed the protests as foreign-backed, blaming the United States and Israel for what it described as a campaign of unrest.
Iranian officials have repeatedly accused outside powers of stirring protests, while demonstrators say they are protesting over political and economic grievances.
A senior Iranian military official warned of severe retaliation against the United States after President Donald Trump called Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei a “sick man” and said it was time for new leadership in Tehran, state media reported.
Speaking at a public event, Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi, the cultural deputy of Iran’s armed forces general staff, dismissed Trump’s remarks.
“We do not take Trump’s noise very seriously,” Shekarchi was quoted as saying.
He added: “Trump knows that if a hand is stretched toward our leader, we will not only cut that hand off – we will set their world on fire. This is not a slogan.”
Shekarchi said Iran would leave “no safe place” for its enemies in the event of any attack.
Trump made his comments on Saturday after Khamenei blamed him for protests in Iran.
“It’s time to look for new leadership in Iran,” Politico quoted Trump as saying.
Trump said Iran’s rulers relied on repression and violence to govern.
“The man is a sick man who should run his country properly and stop killing people,” Trump said. “Leadership is about respect, not fear and death.”
Witnesses in the southern Iranian city of Bushehr have told Iran International that security forces fired at protesters from elevated positions over two nights, leaving more than 20 people with severe eye injuries.
According to the messages received by the outlet, forces fired from locations including rooftops, mosques and some school buildings on the night of Jan. 9 and 8.
Witnesses said medical centers were overwhelmed by the number of wounded, with staff struggling to cope with the influx of patients.
