Iran Army Chief threatens preemptive attack over 'rhetoric' targeting country after Trump's comments

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 Masoud Nazari Mehrabi/Iranian Army via AP

In this photograph released connected January 7, 2026, by the authoritative website of the Iranian Army, Iran's service main Maj. Gen. Amir Hatami speaks to subject academy students, successful Tehran, Iran. Photo: Masoud Nazari Mehrabi/Iranian Army via AP

Iran's service main threatened preemptive subject enactment Wednesday (January 7, 2026) implicit the “rhetoric” targeting the Islamic Republic, apt referring to U.S. President Donald Trump's informing that if Tehran “violently kills peaceful protesters,” America “will travel to their rescue".

The comments by Maj. Gen. Amir Hatami travel arsenic Iran tries to respond to what it sees arsenic a dual menace posed by Israel and the United States, arsenic good arsenic the protests sparked by its economical woes that person grown into a nonstop situation to its theocracy.

Seeking to halt the anger, Iran's authorities began Wednesday paying the equivalent of $7 a period to subsidize rising costs for dinner-table essentials similar rice, nutrient and pastas.

Shopkeepers pass prices for items arsenic basal arsenic cooking lipid apt volition triple nether unit from the illness of Iran's rial currency and the extremity of a preferential subsidised dollar-rial speech complaint for importers and manufacturers, apt fuelling further fashionable anger.

“More than a week of protests successful Iran reflects not lone worsening economical conditions, but longstanding choler astatine authorities repression and authorities policies that person led to Iran's planetary isolation,” the New York-based Soufan Center deliberation vessel said.

Hatami spoke to subject academy students. He took implicit arsenic commander-in-chief of the Iran's army, known by the Farsi connection "Artesh", aft Israel killed a slew of the country's apical subject commanders successful June's 12-day war.

He is the archetypal regular subject serviceman successful decades to clasp a presumption agelong controlled by Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

“The Islamic Republic considers the intensification of specified rhetoric against the Iranian federation arsenic a menace and volition not permission its continuation without a response," Maj. Gen. Hatami said, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.

He added, “I tin accidental with assurance that contiguous the readiness of Iran's equipped forces is acold greater than earlier the war. If the force commits an error, it volition look a much decisive response, and we volition chopped disconnected the manus of immoderate aggressor.” Iranian officials including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei person been responding to Trump's comments, which took connected much value aft the U.S. subject raid that seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, a longtime state of Tehran, implicit the weekend.

But there's been nary contiguous nationalist motion of Iran preparing for an onslaught successful the region.

Iranian authorities tv reported connected the commencement of a caller subsidy of the equivalent of $7, enactment into the slope accounts of heads of households crossed the country. More than 71 cardinal radical volition person the benefit, which is 10 cardinal Iranian rials, it reported. The rial present trades astatine implicit 1.4 cardinal to $1 and continues to depreciate.

The subsidy is much than treble than the 4.5 cardinal rial radical antecedently received. But already, Iranian media study crisp rises successful the outgo of basal goods, including cooking oil, poultry and cheese, placing further strain connected households already burdened by planetary sanctions targeting the state and inflation.

Iran's vice president successful complaint of enforcement affairs, Mohammad Jafar Ghaempanah, told reporters Wednesday that the state was successful a “full-fledged economical war”.

He called for “economic surgery” to destruct rentier policies and corruption wrong the country.

Iran has faced rounds of nationwide protests successful caller years. As sanctions tightened and Iran struggled aft the June warfare with Israel, its rial currency sharply fell successful December.

Protests began soon aft connected Dec 28. They reached their 11th time connected Wednesday and did not look to beryllium stopping.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency offered the latest decease toll of 36 for the demonstrations. It said 30 protesters, 4 children and 2 members of Iran's information forces person been killed. Demonstrations person reached implicit 280 locations successful 27 of Iran's 31 provinces.

The group, which relies connected an activistic web wrong of Iran for its reporting, has been close successful past unrest.

Published - January 07, 2026 06:24 p.m. IST

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