Top Iranian general threatens to ‘cut off’ Trump’s hand over potential military strikes

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One of Iran’s most senior officials issued a direct threat against PresidentDonald TrumpThursday while warning that U.S.military action would provoke retaliation against American forces across the Middle East, according to Iranian media reports.

com/world/us-sending-military-assets-middle-east-trump-weighs-iran-strike-sources-say" target="_blank" rel="noopener">being repositioned toward the Middle Eastamid rising tensions with Tehran.

Senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) GeneralMohsen Rezaei, a member of Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council, reportedly made his threat during a public address.

“Trump has said his hand is on the trigger.We will cut off his hand and his finger,” Rezaei said, according toIran International.

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Senior Iranian General Mohsen Rezaei issues a direct threat against President Donald Trump as the U.S.repositions aircraft carrier amid rising tensions with Tehran, according to reports.(Ayoub Ghaderi/YJC/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS)

The outlet also said that Rezaei maintained that Iran would abandon any notion of a ceasefire if attacked.

“If we move forward, there will be no talk of a ceasefire anymore,” he said.“You do not pay attention to the restraint and strategic patience we have shown.Stop right now.Step back, otherwise none of your bases in the region will be safe,” Rezaei added.

The threat surfaced as at least oneU.S.aircraft carriercould be moving toward the Middle East, according to sources.

Officials have not disclosed whether it is USS Abraham Lincoln, currently operating in the South China Sea, or one of two carriers that departed Norfolk and San Diego earlier this week.

Military sources said transit to the region could take at least a week, with additional U.S.air, land and sea assets expected to follow to provide Trump with military options should he order strikes against Iran.

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In this handout photo provided by the U.S.Navy, a RIM-7P NATO Sea Sparrow Missile launches from the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72).(M.Jeremie Yoder/U.S.Navy via Getty Images)

Rezaei is one of Iran’s most powerful military figures.He served as commander in chief of the IRGC from 1980 to 1997 and is currently vice president for economic affairs, secretary of Iran’s Supreme Council for Economic Coordination and a senior figure in the Principlist Resistance Front of Islamic Iran.

In 2006, Argentine authorities issued an international arrest warrant for Rezaei in connection with the 1994 AMIA Jewish community center bombing in Buenos Aires.He was sanctioned by the U.S.Treasury in January 2020 under Executive Order 13876 for advancing Iran’s destabilizing objectives.

During his tenure, the IRGC expanded repression at home and supported terrorist proxy groups abroad, including Hezbollah.

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Demonstrators burn a poster depicting Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a rally in support of anti-government protests in Iran, in Holon, Israel, Wednesday, Jan.14, 2026.(AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Meanwhile, unrest inside Iran continued into its 19th day.According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA),at least 2,677 arrestshave been recorded with 1,693 additional cases under investigation.

Another agency also reported expanded communication blackouts, including the shutdown of landlines in some areas.

“They are continuing as before, but not at the pace before the slaughter of thousands and the arrests,�

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“There is still a total shutdown of the internet.Security forces are raiding residential areas and going to people’s rooftops.They started destroying satellite dishes,” Safavi said before describing clashes continuing through Wednesday night into Thursday in Tehran and Kermanshah, including gunfire.

NCRI President-elect Maryam Rajavialso urged the international community to act immediately to secure the release of detainees and demanded an urgent international fact-finding mission to Iran’s prisons.

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