Iran: Will Strongly Respond to Any Military Strike. Attack on the Supreme Leader Is Equivocal to a Declaration of War.

(Tehran, general news) Iranian President Rafsanjani warned that any military strike from the United States would trigger a strong response from Tehran, and an attack on Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei would be equivalent to declaring war.

Pezhichizhan issued the above warning on social media on Sunday (January 18th). His action was clearly a response to US President Trump's statement on Saturday (17th) that "it's time to find a new leadership for Iran."

Trump has repeatedly threatened military intervention against the Iranian regime. In an interview with the US news website Politico on Saturday, he called for the end of Khamenei's 37-year rule.

Hamenei, on the same day, publicly acknowledged for the first time that "thousands" of people had died in the recent protests, but he accused the United States and Israel of assisting in the killings.

An anonymous official disclosed that the confirmed death toll is unlikely to increase significantly, and stated that Israel and overseas armed groups have provided support and weapons to the protesters on the streets.

However, there has always been controversy over the number of deaths and arrests. Iranian officials previously claimed that the nationwide protests that began in late December last year have resulted in at least 5,000 deaths, of which about 500 were security personnel. Other international organizations, however, estimate that the death toll could be as high as 20,000, and the severe internet blockade has severely hindered independent verification.

The Iranian judicial authorities hinted on Sunday that they might continue to execute those detained during the riots. This also implies that the death toll could rise further. Human rights organizations claim that approximately 24,000 people were arrested.

The spokesperson of the Ministry of Justice, Jahangir, said at a press conference on Sunday that a series of actions that occurred locally have been determined to have committed the crime of "waging war against God" (Mohareb), which is one of the most severe crimes in Islamic law and can be punished by death.