Senior Iranian official Mohammad Marandi warned Saturday evening that if President Trump orders an attack tonight, Iran's response will begin immediately. Marandi urged civilians to leave the Persian Gulf monarchies, which he called 'criminal family dictatorships.' According to Abu Ali Express, Iranians fear an attack is imminent.
At 22:20 Jerusalem, the Abu Ali Express channel reported a new statement from senior Iranian official Mohammad Marandi, in which he explicitly warned that Iran will respond "immediately" if President Trump orders an attack tonight. Marandi reiterated his call for civilians to evacuate the Persian Gulf monarchies, which he termed "criminal family dictatorships." The channel added that there is widespread fear in Iran that an attack is imminent. No US strike has been reported as of this writing.
The Zioneer first published a warning from Iran at 18:37 Jerusalem this evening, initially as an unverified single-source report. Over the course of several updates, the source was identified as Mohammad Marandi, a senior Iranian official. The threats escalated rapidly: from a vague warning that "tonight will be the last night of normality in the Gulf," to naming specific targets including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, the UAE, Oman, Israel, and Jordan. Marandi then cited Trump administration statements as the basis for his warning, and by the latest prior version had threatened an "overwhelming response." The new element in the current update is the explicit timeframe and the use of the word "immediately."
The warning comes amid days of escalating rhetoric between the Trump administration and Tehran. As The Zioneer reported on Thursday, President Trump threatened "very hard" strikes on Iran and outlined plans to seize Kharg Island. The IRGC raised its alert level to the highest on Tuesday, and Iranian officials have repeatedly threatened to target US allies in the region. The Zioneer has previously reported on similar threats from Marandi and other Iranian officials.
What remains unverified: no US attack has been reported, and Marandi's claim about an immediate Iranian response is based on a single source (Abu Ali Express). It is not clear whether this represents official Iranian policy or Marandi's personal position. The absence of any reported American military activity leaves the threat unconfirmed.
7 developments
- StrongMarandi says 'time to evacuate' Gulf states in latest response to Trump threat
- DevelopingSenior Iranian official says Iran will attack 'strongly' starting tonight
- StrongIranian official warns of 'strong response' to any US attack; reported evacuations from Tehran
- DevelopingIran negotiator Marandi warns Tehran can 'crush Trump's economy'
Source and signal
- Open-source intake