‘Wiped off the face of the earth’: Trump escalates Iran tensions with chilling warning

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday responded to Iran's threats. He said that the United States will wipe out Ayatollah Ali Khamenei-led country if the country assassinates him, marking a sharp escalation in the war of words between the two nations.

In an interview aired on 20 January on NewsNation's “Katie Pavlich Tonight”, Trump said, “I have very firm instructions — anything happens, they're going to wipe them off the face of this earth."

This statement came in response to Iran's armed forces spokesperson General Abolfazl Shekarchi's warning to the US. On Tuesday, Iran warned 79-year-old US leader to refrain from taking any action against the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “Trump knows that if any hand of aggression is extended toward our leader, we not only cut that hand but also we will set fire to their world,” AFP quoted General Abolfazl Shekarchi as saying.

On 17 January, Trump called Iran's 86-year-old leader a "sick man" and a failed ruler after Khamenei called him “criminal” and blamed him for the murder of thousands of protestors in Tehran. Iran accused the US president of inciting deadly violence and unrest in their nation.

This development comes after Trump previously raised calls for an end to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s 37-year reign. Trump previously accused Iran leadership of relying on repression while he raised calls for new leadership in the Middle Eastern nation.

Few days ago, in an interview with Politico Trump had said, “It’s time to look for new leadership in Iran" as he asserted that “a sick man who should run his country properly and stop killing people.”

The two arch-rivals have been exchanging political barbs over the past few days since protests first erupted in Iran on 28 December over the economic slowdown and stagnation. Over prospective assassination bid, Trump had previously said he instructed his advisors to obliterate Iran.