A senior Iranian official has issued a stark warning that Tehran will regard any military attack as an "all-out war" and respond with maximum force, as a significant American naval deployment heads towards the Middle East.
Iran's Stark Warning to United States
The anonymous official, speaking on Friday, stated unequivocally that Iran's military is on high alert and prepared for the worst-case scenario. "This military build-up – we hope it is not intended for real confrontation but our military is ready for the worst-case scenario. This is why everything is on high alert in Iran," the official said.
In remarkably direct language, the official declared: "This time we will treat any attack – limited, unlimited, surgical, kinetic, whatever they call it – as an all-out war against us, and we will respond in the hardest way possible to settle this."
US Military Build-Up in the Region
The warning comes as the Pentagon has ordered the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and three accompanying destroyers to the Middle East region. According to navy officials, these vessels have left the South China Sea and are currently in the Indian Ocean, heading westward.
These warships will join three littoral combat ships currently in port in Bahrain, along with two other US destroyers operating in the Persian Gulf. The arrival of the carrier strike group alone will bring approximately 5,700 additional American service members to the region.
The United States maintains several significant military bases across the Middle East, including Al Udeid in Qatar, which serves as the forward headquarters for US Central Command and hosts thousands of American troops.
Trump's Comments and Recent History
President Donald Trump commented on Thursday about the US military movement, describing it as an "armada" heading towards Iran while expressing hope that he would not need to use it. He simultaneously renewed warnings to Tehran against killing protesters or restarting its nuclear programme.
This development follows a pattern of escalating tensions. Last year, the United States staged a major military build-up in the Middle East before joining Israel's war on Iran, which included strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June.
Iran's Position on Sovereignty
The Iranian official emphasised Tehran's determination to protect its sovereignty, stating: "If the Americans violate Iran's sovereignty and territorial integrity, we will respond." While declining to specify what form an Iranian response might take, the official explained the rationale behind Iran's position.
"A country under constant military threat from the United States has no option but to ensure that everything at its disposal can be used to push back and, if possible, restore balance against anyone who dares to attack Iran," the official said, highlighting the perceived existential nature of the threat from Tehran's perspective.
The situation represents one of the most serious escalations in US-Iran relations in recent years, with both sides positioning military assets while exchanging increasingly stark warnings about potential consequences of military action.
