Iran will retaliate 'with everything we have' if US attacks, senior diplomat warns

Iran warned it would respond "with everything we have" to immoderate caller U.S. subject attack, accusing Washington and its allies of exploiting caller unrest to propulsion the portion toward a wider war.

In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said protests successful Iran began peacefully earlier being hijacked by "foreign and home violent actors," prompting a convulsive crackdown and near-total net and communications shutdown. 

He blamed U.S. rhetoric for escalating the bloodshed, arguing that warnings from President Donald Trump created incentives for wide violence. 

While insisting Iran prefers diplomacy, Araghchi cautioned that aboriginal attacks would trigger a acold much forceful effect and hazard igniting a prolonged determination conflict.

KHAMENEI CALLS TRUMP A ‘CRIMINAL,’ BLAMES HIM FOR DEADLY PROTESTS SWEEPING IRAN

Iran's overseas curate Abbas Araghchi waits for the accomplishment of his Qatari counterpart earlier their gathering successful Tehran connected Aug. 26, 2024. (Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images)

"As Iranians grieve their loved ones and rebuild what has been destroyed, different menace looms: the last nonaccomplishment of diplomacy. Unlike the restraint Iran showed successful June 2025, our almighty equipped forces person nary qualms astir firing backmost with everything we person if we travel nether renewed attack," helium said.

"Iran’s connection to President Trump is clear: The U.S. has tried each conceivable hostile enactment against Iran, from sanctions and cyber assaults to outright subject attack—and, astir recently, it intelligibly fanned a large violent operation—all of which failed. It is clip to deliberation differently. Try respect, which volition let america to beforehand farther than 1 whitethorn believe."

Trump is weighing subject enactment against Tehran, with U.S. assets moving into the portion amid planetary scrutiny implicit a crackdown that has killed thousands of anti-government protesters.

KEANE WARNS IRAN'S LEADERSHIP TO TAKE TRUMP 'AT HIS WORD' AS MILITARY ASSETS MOVE INTO REGION

An Iranian antheral looks astatine a autobus burned during caller anti-government unrest, displayed successful a quadrate successful downtown Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), which tracks quality rights violations successful Iran, said connected Tuesday that nationwide protests continued into the 24th day.

The group's aggregated figures showed 629 recorded protests, the apprehension of astatine slightest 26,314 radical and the confirmed deaths of 4,519 individuals.

HRANA said 4,251 of those killed were protesters, including 33 children nether the property of 18.

The United Nations Human Rights Council announced it volition clasp a peculiar league to code the deteriorating quality rights concern successful Iran connected Friday.

Iranian clerics basal wrong an Islamic seminary that was burned during protests successful Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (Majid Asgaripour/West Asia News Agency via REUTERS)

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Iranian writer Elaheh Mohammadi said connected X that for the past time oregon two, VPN entree has worked lone sporadically for 30 minutes to an hr astatine a time, allowing little net connections to fto radical cognize they are inactive alive. 

"The metropolis smells of death. In each my life, I had ne'er seen snowfall autumn successful Tehran and not a azygous idiosyncratic adjacent smile," she wrote. "Hard days person passed and everyone is stunned; a full state is successful mourning, a full state is holding backmost tears, a full state has a lump successful its throat."