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Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has warned the United States that any attack on his country would result in a “regional war” as Washington has deployed the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, additional guided-missile destroyers and advanced air defense systems in what President Donald Trump has described as a “massive and beautiful armada.”
“They should know that if they start a war this time, it will be a regional war,” Al Jazeera quoted the Supreme Leader as saying at an event in downtown Tehran on Sunday.
According to Al Jazeera, Khamenei said the U.S. wants to “devour” Iran and its vast oil and natural gas resources, adding that what happened during the recent antigovernment protests “was similar to a coup” since a large number of government offices, banks and mosques were stormed.
Asked about the supreme leader’s warning, Trump told reporters: “Of course he is going to say that.
“Hopefully we’ll make a deal. If we don’t make a deal, then we’ll find out whether or not he was right.”
Donald Trump earlier said Iran was in "serious discussions" and he hoped they would lead to something "acceptable", while Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told CNN he was "confident that we can achieve a deal" on Tehran's nuclear programme.
Trump has threatened to intervene in Iran over its nuclear ambitions and after its deadly crackdown on anti-government protests, which Tehran describes as riots incited by foreign-backed terrorists.