TEHRAN
\nIranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warned on Sunday that any attack on the country\u2019s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would mean a declaration of war.
\n\u201cAn attack on the great leader of our country is tantamount to a full-scale war with the Iranian nation,\u201d Pezeshkian said in a post on X in an apparent response to US President Donald Trump saying it was time to look for a new leader in Iran.
\nLimited internet access has returned in Iran, a monitor said Sunday, 10 days after authorities imposed a communications blackout amid violent protests.
\nDemonstrations sparked in late December by anger over economic hardship exploded into protests widely seen as the biggest challenge to the Iranian leadership in years.
\nThe rallies subsided after the crackdown amid a communications blackout that started on January 8 as the protests grew in size and intensity.
\nIranian officials have said the demonstrations were peaceful before turning into \u201criots\u201d and blamed foreign influence from Iran\u2019s arch-foes the United States and Israel.
\nTrump, who backed and joined Israel\u2019s 12-day war against Iran in June, had repeatedly threatened new military action against Tehran if protesters were killed.
\nWhile Washington appeared to have stepped back, Trump hit out at the Iranian supreme leader \u2014 in power for 37 years \u2014 in an interview with Politico on Saturday, saying it was \u201ctime to look for new leadership in Iran\u201d.
\nAs leaders in Washington and Tehran have exchanged barbs, Iranian officials have said calm has been restored in the streets.
\nSecurity forces with armored vehicles and motorcycles were seen in central Tehran, according to media correspondents.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TEHRAN Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warned on Sunday that any attack on the country\u2019s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would mean a declaration of war. \u201cAn attack on the great leader of our country is tantamount to a full-scale war with the Iranian nation,\u201d Pezeshkian said in a post on X in an apparent response […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":526612,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-526593","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n