Iran’s top diplomat issued his most direct threat to the US yet on Wednesday, warning that the Islamic Republic will fire “back with everything we have if we come under renewed attack.”
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi ramped up his anti-US rhetoric in a new opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, warning America to stay out of Iran’s politics despite the brutal crackdown on anti-regime protesters.
In the article, Araghchi claimed that a US attack on Iran would not end as it did during the 12-day war last year, where Tehran launched a small-scale attack on a US air base in Qatar that resulted in zero casualties.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi attends a seminar in Beirut, Lebanon, on Jan. 9, 2026. AP“Unlike the restraint Iran showed in June 2025, our powerful armed forces have no qualms about firing back with everything we have if we come under renewed attack,” Araghchi wrote.
“This isn’t a threat, but a reality I feel I need to convey explicitly, because as a diplomat and a veteran, I abhor war,” he claimed.
“An all-out confrontation will certainly be ferocious and drag on far, far longer than the fantasy timelines that Israel and its proxies are trying to peddle to the White House,” Araghchi added.
“It will certainly engulf the wider region and have an impact on ordinary people around the globe.”
People gather in the streets during a protest in Tehran, Iran, on Jan. 8, 2026. Getty Images
Fires are lit as protesters rally on Jan. 8, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. Getty ImagesThe foreign minister’s comment comes as tensions remain high between Washington and Tehran over the deaths that erupted during the anti-government protests in Iran.
While the exact figure has yet to be verified, the death toll is estimated to have reached at least 4,519 people, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.
Here is the latest on the civil unrest in Iran:
- Iranian foreign minister claims Israeli spies incited ‘maximum bloodshed’ during protests to get US involved
- Iran security forces killed innocent bystanders during protests, witnesses say
- Tehran streets hit with heavy machine gun fire from militias in deadly night attacks
- Top Iran diplomat vows to ‘fire back with everything we have’ if US attacks
The mass deaths triggered international backlash against Iran, with President Trump warning of direct military intervention if the killing continued.
Trump, who has called for leadership change in Iran, also said Tuesday that if Tehran were to ever act on its threats to assassinate him, he has left instructions for the US to “blow up” Iran.
A crowd watches as the caskets of members of Iran’s security forces, whom authorities said were killed during recent nationwide protests, are transported during a mass funeral on Jan. 14, 2026 outside Tehran University in Tehran, Iran. Getty Images
President Trump said Tuesday that if Tehran were to ever act on its threats to assassinate him, he has left instructions for the US to “blow up” Iran. REUTERSTrump did not directly mention Iran in his speech on Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, which rescinded its invitation to Araghchi over the killing of protesters.
After tensions flared last week, with an attack on Iran appearing imminent, the US has begun mobilizing some of its forces around the Middle East region.
On Tuesday, the USS Abraham Lincoln, which had been in the South China Sea in recent days, was spotted making its way to the region, according to ship-tracking data.
The aircraft carrier and three accompanying destroyers were all confirmed to be heading west, a US Navy official told the Associated Press.
With Post wires
