Khaberni - American President Donald Trump warned on Tuesday that Iran would be erased "from the face of the Earth" if it succeeded in assassinating him.
In a sharp exchange of threats, both Iran and the United States threatened each other with a full-scale war in case of the assassination of either country's leader.
In an interview with "News Nation" aired on Tuesday, 79-year-old Trump responded to a question about Iran's threat to his life by saying, "I have given very strict instructions. If anything happens, they will be erased from the face of the Earth."
Earlier on Tuesday, in response to any threats against Iranian leader Ali Khamenei, the spokesman for the Iranian Armed Forces General Staff, General Abu Al-Fadl Shkarji, said that Trump knows beforehand that Tehran will not hesitate to respond.
Shkarji was quoted by the official Iranian media saying, "Trump knows that if the hand of aggression extends towards our leader, we will not only cut off that hand, but it is not just a slogan."
He added, "We will set their world on fire and will leave them no safe haven in the region."
Trump had issued a similar warning to Iran a year ago, shortly after returning to the White House, when he told reporters, "If they do it, they will be erased."
Iran is still reeling from the fallout of violence during some of the largest anti-government protests since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
The Norway-based organization, Iran Human Rights, reported that verifying the death toll from the repression remains difficult due to communication restrictions. On Monday, they stated that the available data "indicates that the number of protesters killed may even exceed the highest media estimates," which reach about 20,000 deaths.
In December last year, Iranians began organizing large-scale demonstrations demanding relief from their economic hardships, after the value of the national currency fell to its lowest level under the 86-year-old Khamenei's leadership, who has refused democratic reforms for decades.
Many members of Iranian diasporas abroad, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi who lives in exile, called for US intervention against the ruling regime in Tehran.
Ebadi urged for "precise and targeted actions" against the Iranian leader and Revolutionary Guard commanders.
