Iran’s supreme leader issued a sharp warning on Sunday, saying any military action by the United States would trigger a “regional war” across the Middle East, heightening tensions as President Donald Trump has openly threatened strikes against the Islamic Republic.
The remarks by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, marked his most explicit threat to date, coming as the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and other American warships operate in the Arabian Sea. The deployment followed Trump’s decision to move naval forces after Tehran’s violent suppression of nationwide protests.
Whether Trump will ultimately authorize the use of force remains uncertain. He has repeatedly said Iran is interested in negotiations and has pointed to Tehran’s nuclear program as another central issue he wants addressed.
Khamenei, however, also described the ongoing demonstrations as “a coup,” signaling a tougher official stance as reports indicate tens of thousands of people have been detained since protests erupted.
In Iran, charges of sedition can carry the death penalty, renewing fears that Tehran could carry out mass executions of detainees — a development Trump has described as a red line.
At the same time, Iran had scheduled live-fire military exercises for Sunday and Monday in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, the narrow passage linking the Persian Gulf to global markets and used for roughly one-fifth of the world’s traded oil.
The US military’s Central Command warned Tehran not to threaten American vessels or aircraft during the drills or interfere with commercial shipping.
Iranian state television first reported Khamenei’s statements online before broadcasting footage of his speech.
“The Americans should know that if they start a war, this time it will be a regional war,” Khamenei was quoted as saying.
It added that he also declared: “We are not the instigators and we do not seek to attack any country. But the Iranian nation will deliver a firm blow to anyone who attacks or harasses it.”
Khamenei further hardened his rhetoric toward the protests, after previously acknowledging that some demonstrators were driven by genuine economic grievances. The unrest began on Dec. 28, initially sparked by the collapse of Iran’s rial, before quickly evolving into a broader challenge to his rule.
“The recent sedition was similar to a coup. Of course, the coup was suppressed,” he said. “Their goal was to destroy sensitive and effective centers involved in running the country, and for this reason they attacked the police, government centers, (Revolutionary Guard) facilities, banks and mosques — and burned copies of the Quran. They targeted centers that run the country.”
Separately, Iran’s parliament speaker said the Islamic Republic now considers all European Union militaries to be terrorist organizations, responding to the bloc’s decision to designate Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard as a terror group over its crackdown on protesters.
Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, a former Guard commander, announced the move, which is expected to be largely symbolic.
Iran has relied on a 2019 law to reciprocally label other nations’ militaries as terrorist groups after the United States designated the Guard as a terror organization that year.
Qalibaf made the announcement as he and other lawmakers donned Guard uniforms in a show of support for the force, which controls Iran’s ballistic missile program and extensive economic interests and answers directly to Khamenei.
“By seeking to strike at the (Guard), which itself has been the greatest barrier to the spread of terrorism to Europe, Europeans have in fact shot themselves in the foot and, once again, through blind obedience to the Americans, decided against the interests of their own people,” Qalibaf said.
Lawmakers later shouted slogans of “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!” during the session.
Trump has publicly outlined two red lines that could prompt military action: the killing of peaceful protesters or the mass execution of those detained during the crackdown.
He has also increasingly focused on Iran’s nuclear program, which the US had negotiated with Tehran over multiple rounds of talks before Israel launched a 12-day war with Iran in June.
During that conflict, the US bombed three Iranian nuclear facilities. Activity observed at two of the sites has raised suspicions that Iran may be attempting to obscure satellite imagery as it works to preserve what remains.
Trump said Saturday night that he had not yet decided how to proceed on Iran.
Speaking with reporters aboard a flight to Florida, Donald Trump sidestepped a question about whether Tehran would feel emboldened if Washington refrained from striking, saying, “Some people think that. Some people don’t.”
He added that Iran should negotiate a “satisfactory” agreement to prevent it from obtaining nuclear weapons, but cautioned, “I don’t know that they will. But they are talking to us. Seriously talking to us.”
Late Saturday, senior Iranian security official Ali Larijani wrote on X that “structural arrangements for negotiations are progressing.” There has been no public indication of direct talks with the United States, something Khamenei has repeatedly ruled out.
{Matzav.com}A heavy pall of mourning has descended upon the Chassidic world, and the courts of Lelov in particular, following the sudden passing of Rav Yissachar Dov Biderman, the Lelover Rebbe zt”l. The Rebbe collapsed while immersing in a mikvah. He was 84 years old.
The Rebbe arrived earlier today, as was his custom, to immerse in the private mikvah located at the Lelover beis medrash on Rechov Tzefania Street in Yerushalayim. After he remained in the water longer than usual, those accompanying him raised the alarm. Emergency medical teams were summoned and carried out prolonged resuscitation efforts, but tragically, doctors were forced to declare his petirah.
Paramedic Naftali Sofer of Hatzalah, together with emergency medical technicians Yosef Herpaz and Kobi Marder, described the scene: “When we arrived, we found a man unconscious, without a pulse or respiration. Witnesses told us he had been pulled from the water in that condition. Together with additional paramedics and EMTs from MDA and Hatzalah, we immediately began advanced resuscitation efforts, including chest compressions, assisted ventilation, and life-saving medications. Sadly, despite all efforts, MDA paramedics were forced to pronounce his passing at the scene.”
Reb Bentzi Oiring, commander of the Yerushalayim district of ZAKA, stated: “The Rebbe collapsed in the mikvah of the Lelover Chassidus on Rechov Tzefania in Yerushalayim. His attendants, noticing that he was delayed for an extended period, called emergency services. MDA teams confirmed his passing. ZAKA volunteers are operating at the scene, ensuring that kavod hameis is fully preserved.”
Following his petirah, the niftar was brought into the Lelover beis medrash, where the paroches was removed and candles were lit around him.
The levayah is scheduled to take place this evening, departing from the Kedushas Mordechai Lelov beis medrash at 39 Rechov Bar Ilan in Yerushalayim, and proceeding to Har Haceisim. The levayah is expected to begin after 8:00 p.m., following the arrival of the Rebbe’s son on a flight from London.
Rav Yissachar Dov Biderman was born in Yerushalayim on the 10th of Kislev, 5702 (1941), to his father, the Lelover Rebbe, Rav Moshe Mordechai Biderman, and his mother, Rebbetzin Ettel, of the Schwartz family.
At his bris, he was named Yissachar Dov after the Belzer Rebbe. As a young child, he moved with his family to Tel Aviv, where his father relocated from the Batei Varsha neighborhood of Yerushalayim. He studied at the Belzer cheder and later in the Belzer yeshivah, eventually learning in the Lelover yeshivah in Yerushalayim’s Beis Yisrael neighborhood, where he distinguished himself as one of its outstanding talmidim.
After his marriage, he continued to immerse himself in limud haTorah and supported his family by writing Sifrei Torah. Known for his ascetic lifestyle, the Rebbe was entirely devoted to avodas hakodesh. Those close to him described him as exceptionally gentle and refined, visibly carrying forward the sacred path and spiritual bearing of his father. He was especially renowned for his profound ahavas Yisrael, in the tradition of the Lelover rebbes from the dynasty’s founder, Rav Dovid’l of Lelov, onward.
In later years, he assumed the mantle of leadership as Lelover Rebbe and headed the Kedushas Mordechai Lelov beis medrash on Rechov Bar Ilan in Yerushalayim, which was established in 2007. His chassidim reside throughout Israel and around the world, and many would travel to participate in his tishen on yahrtzeits and Yomim Tovim. On Motzaei Shabbos, following Havdalah, the Rebbe was known to distribute cigarettes to those present, a custom remembered fondly by his followers.
The Rebbe’s sudden passing comes just two days before the yahrtzeit of his brother, the Lelover Rebbe Rav Avraham Shlomo Biderman, who passed away on the 16th of Shevat in 5760.
He is survived by his family and many descendants who continue his sacred path, as well as his brothers, the Lelover rebbes of Nikolsburg and Lelov Ezras Torah.
Yehi zichro boruch.
The East African country of Somalia is holding up permits for Israeli airline Arkia to continue flying over it to and from the Far East, the Israeli Transport Ministry says.
The delay comes amid tensions between the two countries over Israel’s recognition on Dec. 26 of the breakaway Republic of Somaliland as an independent state. Somalia views the autonomous region as an integral part of its territory.
“The reason for not granting the approval to Arkia is not clear because the authorities in Somalia did not specify the reason for their refusal,” the Transport Ministry said in a statement on Thursday. “This refusal constitutes a violation of the Convention on International Aviation to which Somalia, a member of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), is a signatory.”
The ministry added that it is working with “all relevant parties” and using “all means at its disposal” to assist the Israeli carrier in resolving the issue.
Arkia said that it has not received a renewal of its permit to fly over Somalia airspace, which expires at the end of January, and may be forced to alter its flight route to Thailand.
“As part of international aviation procedures, airlines submit periodic requests for air transit permits on various routes,” Arkia said in a statement. “As of now, Arkia has not yet received the renewal of the periodic permit for air transit over Somalia for February.”
“If approval is not received by the beginning of February, the company will operate flights on an alternative route, without any change to flight times and without harming passengers,” the carrier said.
Arkia, which began flying to Thailand in November, added that the issue is being handled by Israeli authorities, including the Civil Aviation Authority and the Foreign Ministry.
Israeli flag carrier El Al’s s permit renewal to fly over Somalia remains valid until March 1.
Israeli travel agents said Thursday that the delay in granting the permit is seen as Somalia’s revenge over Israel’s recognition of Somaliland and was a diplomatic issue that will have little to no effect on flights to the Far East.
“The refusal of Somalia’s government to grant the approval due to Israel’s recognition of Somaliland is more of a diplomatic issue than anything else,” Mark Feldman, CEO of Jerusalem’s Ziontours, told JNS on Sunday. “The additional 20 minutes required to bypass their airspace will have zero ramifications on Arkia marketing the route.”
{Matzav.com}
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