Trump warned a US armada was heading toward Iran over protesters and the nuclear programme
Mohammad Javad Haj Ali Akbari, the Friday prayer Imam, speaks during Friday prayer, in Tehran, Iran October 22, 2021.PHOTO:REUTERS
An influential Iranian cleric warned on Friday that Iran may target US-linked investments in the region in retaliation for any US attack on the Islamic Republic, Iranian news agencies reported.
President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the US had an “armada” heading toward Iran but hoped he would not have to use it, as he renewed warnings to Tehran against killing protesters or restarting its nuclear programme.
“The one trillion dollars you have invested in the region is under the watch of our missiles,” said Mohammad Javad Haj Ali Akbari, a leader of Friday prayers in Tehran held before a large gathering.
He did not specify which investments he was referring to.
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Separately, Iran’s top prosecutor Mohammad Movahedi denied that Iran had called off 800 executions of people arrested in recent nationwide protests, as Trump has said.
“This claim is completely false. No such number exists, nor has the judiciary made any such decision,” Movahedi was quoted as saying by the judiciary’s news agency Mizan.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Fox News last week that “there is no plan for hanging at all” when asked about the anti-government protests.
The UN Human Rights Council is due to hold an emergency session today to discuss what it described as “alarming violence” used in Iran against protesters, while a group of states will call on UN investigators to document alleged abuses for possible future trials.
Rights groups say thousands of people, including bystanders, were killed during the unrest, which they say represents the biggest challenge to Iran’s clerical government since 2022.
