An Iranian state TV presenter has warned up to 50,000 US soldiers will be returned to the United States in coffins after Donald Trump raised the idea of regime change in Iran. Mehdi Khanalizadeh accused the US president of choosing to spill the blood of his soldiers. He added: “The US president in the Oval Office chose to take delivery of the coffins of up to 50,000 US soldiers in Washington.”
The warning comes after Mr Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that it wasn’t “politically correct” to use the term “regime change” but if Tehran was unable to “MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN” then “why wouldn’t there be a Regime change???”
Iran in turn has sent a chilling warning to Mr Trump, with the Islamic Republic warning the US should expect “heavy consequences”. In a statement, Iran‘s military command spokesman, Ebrahim Zolfaqari warned the US President: “Mr Trump, the gambler, you may start this war, but we will be the ones to end it.”
Tehran lashed out at Washington for crossing “a very big red line” in striking three nuclear sites with missiles and 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs.
Mr Trump, who has warned of more strikes if Tehran retaliates against US forces, mulled the possibility of “regime change” despite White House officials earlier suggesting they wanted to restart talks with Iran. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in an interview with CBS, said: “Let’s meet directly.”
Ali Akbar Velayati, an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said any country used by the US to strike Iran “will be a legitimate target for our armed forces”, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.
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