TEHRAN – Iran's armed forces are prepared for any confrontation following military threats by the United States, Ahmad Vahidi, deputy head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, has said. 

“The capability of our armed forces is exceptionally high. By the grace of God, they are at the peak of their readiness and morale,” Brigadier General Vahidi told ISNA in an interview published Wednesday.
He also said threats against Iran by the U.S. are not new.

“These threats have always existed, and they are not limited to today or yesterday,” he said when asked about Trump’s recent military threats. 

He added, “It has been 47 years (since the 1979 Islamic Revolution) that the U.S. has been making such threats.” 

The United States renewed its threats against Iran when the protests began in Tehran’s Bazaar on December 28, 2025, over the fall of the rial - the national currency - rising prices, and market instability. 

In a threat on January 2, U.S. President Donald Trump said his country is locked and loaded” to strike Iran if Iran confronts protestors who turned to acts of violence and sabotage under the provocation of the Israeli regime and the U.S.

To destabilize Iran, in a second post on his Truth Social account, he said, “Help is coming.”   

In another post on Jan. 13, Trump said, "Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING – TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!! 

Also, in an interview with Politico on January 7, Trump said, “It’s time to look for new leadership in Iran.”

Many have interpreted Trump’s interview as a hidden threat against the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

On Tuesday, senior Iranian military commanders also delivered a fierce rebuff to threats from Washington, warning that any hostile move against the Islamic Republic’s leadership or sovereignty will trigger a global response that will “set the enemy’s world on fire.”

Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi, the spokesperson for the General Staff of the Armed Forces, dismissed the recent rhetorical escalations by Trump as “mere noise,” while simultaneously drawing a clear line in the sand.

“Trump knows that if a hand of aggression is extended toward our Leader [of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei], we will not only cut that hand—decisively and courageously—but we will set their world on fire and deny them any peace,” Shekarchi declared.

He emphasized that this warning is “not a slogan,” asserting that no region will remain a “safe zone” for those who target Iran.

Also, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian warned on Sunday that any attack against Ayatollah Khamenei will amount to a “full-fledged war” with the Iranian nation.

The Iranian parliamentary National Security and Foreign Policy Committee responded by stating that any assault on the Leader is “a declaration of war against Islam itself,” an act that would inevitably prompt a global Jihad decree and the mobilization of the “soldiers of Islam” across the planet.