Iran’s top military commander, General Amir Hatami, has warned that Tehran will not remain silent in the face of mounting threats from the United States and Israel, following their public support for anti-government protests sweeping across the country.
Speaking on Wednesday, Hatami said the Islamic Republic viewed the recent escalation in “hostile rhetoric” as a direct threat to its sovereignty.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran considers the escalation of hostile rhetoric against the Iranian nation a threat and will not tolerate its continuation without responding,” Hatami told the semi-official Fars news agency.
The army chief, who commands Iran’s regular military forces but is not the nation’s most senior military officer, cautioned that Tehran’s response would surpass its actions during last June’s 12-day conflict with Israel.
“If the enemy makes a mistake, our response will be more robust than during last June’s war,” he warned.
The warning followed statements by the US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressing support for ongoing demonstrations sparked by economic hardship.
On December 28, merchants in Tehran began protesting against soaring prices and the sharp decline of the rial, triggering similar rallies across several cities, some of which turned violent.
While the protests have yet to reach the scale of Iran’s 2022–2023 unrest, or the mass demonstrations that followed disputed elections in 2009, the movement has drawn growing attention from international adversaries.
“We’re watching it very closely. If they start killing people like they have in the past, I think they’re going to get hit very hard by the United States,” Trump told reporters on Sunday.
Netanyahu echoed similar sentiments during a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem.
“We stand in solidarity with the struggle of the Iranian people and with their aspirations for freedom, liberty, and justice,” he said.
In response, Iran’s foreign ministry on Monday accused both leaders of “inciting violence” and attempting to sow division within the country.
“Trump and Netanyahu are trying to undermine Iran’s national unity through inflammatory remarks,” the ministry said in a statement.
The latest flare-up in rhetoric came months after a short but intense conflict in June, which began with an unprecedented Israeli strike on Iranian military and nuclear facilities. The United States briefly joined, targeting three major nuclear sites.
