WASHINGTON: In a he­­­a­­ted exchange of threats, Iran and the United States have threatened broadsca­­le wars if the leaders of eit­h­­er country are assassinated.

“I have very firm instru­ctions. Anything happens, they’re going to wipe them off the face of this earth,” Trump said in a News Nation interview in response to a question on Iran’s direct warning to the US leader.

Earlier on Tuesday, in response to any threats fa­­cing Ayatollah Ali Kha­m­enei, Iranian General Abolfazl Shekarchi was quoted as saying Trump already knew Tehran would not hold back if the tables were turned.

“Trump knows that if a hand of aggression is ext­ended toward our leader, we will not only sever that hand, and this is not a mere slogan,” Shekarchi was quoted as telling Iranian state media.

“But we will set their wo­­rld on fire and leave them no safe haven in the region.”

Trump had issued a similar warning to Iran a year ago, shortly after returning to the White House, when he told reporters “if they do it, they get obliterated”.

Iran blamed the US and Israel for the deadly violence under the cover of protests against inflation.

Rights groups are working to confirm the number of deaths during the protests, with the Human Ri­­ghts Activists News Agen­­cy putting the toll around 4,000. The Norway-based Iran Human Rights NGO has said verification of deaths in the crackdown remains severely hampe­red due to the communication rest­r­ictions, but noted on Mon­day that available information “indicates that the number of protesters kil­led may exceed even the highest media estimates”.

Published in Dawn, January 22nd, 2026