According to Iranian media reports, one of Iran’s top officials delivered a direct threat to President on Thursday, cautioning that any U.S. military move would trigger retaliatory strikes on American forces throughout the Middle East.
These statements emerged as well-placed sources confirmed to Digital that at least one American aircraft carrier was positioned amid escalating tensions with Tehran.
A senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) general, who serves on Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council, reportedly issued the threat during a public speech.
“Trump has said his hand is on the trigger. We will cut off his hand and his finger,” Rezaei stated, according to
The publication also reported that Rezaei insisted Iran would drop any ceasefire considerations if attacked.
“If we proceed, there will be no further discussion of a ceasefire,” he stated. “You ignore the restraint and strategic patience we have demonstrated. Stop immediately. Retreat, or else none of your regional bases will remain secure,” Rezaei added.
The threat emerged as at least one vessel appeared to be heading toward the Middle East, according to sources.
Authorities have not revealed whether this refers to the USS Abraham Lincoln, presently deployed in the South China Sea, or to one of two carriers that left Norfolk and San Diego earlier this week.
Military sources indicated that travel to the region could require at least a week, with further U.S. air, ground, and naval resources anticipated to deploy, giving Trump military alternatives if he decides to launch strikes on Iran.
Rezaei ranks among Iran’s most influential military leaders. He commanded the IRGC as chief from 1980 to 1997 and currently holds positions as vice president for economic affairs, secretary of Iran’s Supreme Council for Economic Coordination, and a leading member of the Principlist Resistance Front of Islamic Iran.
In 2006, Argentine officials issued an international arrest warrant for Rezaei regarding the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires. The U.S. Treasury sanctioned him in January 2020 under Executive Order 13876 for promoting Iran’s destabilizing agenda.
Throughout his leadership, the IRGC intensified domestic suppression and backed terrorist proxy organizations overseas, such as Hezbollah.
Meanwhile, internal unrest in Iran persisted into its nineteenth day. According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), have been documented, with 1,693 more cases being investigated.
Another organization also documented broader communication outages, including landline shutdowns in certain regions.
“They persist as before, though not at the rate seen prior to the killing of thousands and the mass arrests,” Ali Safavi of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) told Digital, alleging up to 50,000 people detained.
“The internet remains completely shut down. Security forces are storming residential neighborhoods and accessing people’s rooftops. They have begun destroying satellite dishes,” Safavi reported, before detailing ongoing clashes from Wednesday night into Thursday in Tehran and Kermanshah, which included exchanges of gunfire.
also called on the international community to take immediate action to free detainees and requested an urgent global fact-finding delegation to Iran’s prisons.