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Iran’s ultimate person connected Sunday (February 1, 2026) likened caller anti-government protests to a “coup”, informing that immoderate U.S. onslaught connected the Islamic Republic pursuing Washington’s subject deployments successful the Middle East would trigger a determination war.
The Iranian authorities’ deadly effect to the protests sparked threats of involution from U.S. President Donald Trump, who dispatched an craft bearer radical to the region.
“The Americans should cognize that if they commencement a war, this clip it volition beryllium a determination war,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said, telling Iranians they “should not beryllium scared” of Mr. Trump’s rhetoric.
The demonstrations successful Iran began arsenic an look of discontent astatine the precocious outgo of living, but grew into a wide anti-government question that the country’s leaders person described arsenic “riots” fomented by the United States and Israel.
“They (rioters) attacked the police, authorities centres, IRGC centres, banks, and mosques, and burned the Koran... It was similar a coup,” Mr. Khamenei said, adding that “the coup was suppressed”.
Tehran has acknowledged much than 3,000 deaths during the protests, but insists that astir were members of the information forces and guiltless bystanders, attributing the unit to “terrorist acts”.
Rights groups and overseas governments, however, person accused Iran and its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of carrying retired a crackdown that killed thousands of protesters.
The effect prompted the European Union to database the IRGC arsenic a violent organisation, with Iranian lawmakers retaliating connected Sunday by slapping the aforesaid designation connected European armies.
Lawmakers wore the greenish azygous of the Guards successful a show of solidarity astatine the legislative session, wherever they chanted “Death to America”, “Death to Israel” and “Shame connected you, Europe”, authorities tv footage showed.
Slamming the bloc’s “irresponsible action”, talker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said that nether “Article 7 of the Law connected Countermeasures Against the Declaration of the IRGC arsenic a Terrorist Organisation, the armies of European countries are considered violent groups”.
It remained unclear what contiguous interaction the determination would have.
The instrumentality was archetypal passed successful 2019, erstwhile the United States classified the Guards arsenic a violent organisation.
Sunday’s (February 1, 2026) league was held connected the 47th day of the instrumentality from exile of the precocious Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who founded the Islamic republic successful 1979.
The Guards are the ideological limb of Iran’s military, tasked with safeguarding the Islamic gyration from outer and interior threats.
The European Union agreed connected Thursday (January 29, 2026) to database the Guards arsenic a “terrorist organisation” implicit the effect to the protests.
The measurement matched akin classifications enacted by the United States, Canada and Australia.
Mr. Ghalibaf said the determination had “accelerated Europe’s way to becoming irrelevant successful the aboriginal satellite order”, adding it had lone accrued home enactment for the Guards.
Threats and dialogue
Iran and the United States person been trading warnings and threats of imaginable subject action, adjacent arsenic their leaders look to permission the doorway unfastened for negotiations.
Firouzeh, a 43-year-old homemaker who declined to springiness her afloat name, said the caller tensions had near her “very disquieted and scared”.
“Lately, each I bash is ticker the quality until I autumn asleep. Sometimes I aftermath up successful the mediate of the nighttime to cheque the updates.”
IRGC authoritative Ahmad Vahidi was quoted by the Mehr quality bureau arsenic saying “enemies” sought to make a “war atmosphere”.
“This is portion of their intelligence operations. Therefore we should not autumn into this trap,” Mr. Vahidi said.
The ultra-conservative Kayhan regular ran the header “West Asia, Iran’s location and America’s graveyard”, portion Mr. Mehr said respective 1000 graves successful Tehran were acceptable to person the remains of American soldiers if the United States attacked.
But Ali Larijani, caput of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said connected Saturday (January 31, 2026): “Contrary to the hype of the contrived media war, structural arrangements for negotiations are progressing.”
Mr. Trump besides confirmed that dialog was taking place, but without withdrawing his earlier threats, adding, “we’ll spot what happens”.
The U.S. president antecedently said helium believed Iran would marque a woody implicit its atomic and rocket programmes alternatively than look subject action.
Tehran, meanwhile, has said it is acceptable for atomic talks if its rocket and defence capabilities are not connected the agenda.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Saturday (January 31, 2026) that “a warfare would beryllium successful the involvement of neither Iran, nor the United States, nor the region”, during a telephone with his Egyptian counterpart, according to his office.
Qatari Premier Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al, who besides serves arsenic Foreign Minister, held talks successful Iran Saturday (January 31, 2026) to effort to “de-escalate tensions”, the kingdom’s Foreign Ministry said.
