The commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Thursday warned Washington that the force had its “finger on the trigger” in the wake of its crackdown on mass anti-government protests, even as US President Donald Trump said the Islamic Republic still appeared interested in talks.

Trump has repeatedly left open the option of new American military action against Iran. In June 2025, Washington backed and later joined Israel’s 12-day war aimed at degrading the Iranian nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

Two weeks of protests starting in late December shook the clerical leadership under Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but the movement has petered out in the face of a crackdown that activists and government sources say has left thousands dead, accompanied by an unprecedented internet blackout.

On Thursday, IRGC commander General Mohammad Pakpour warned Israel and the United States “to avoid any miscalculations, by learning from historical experiences and what they learned in the 12-day imposed war, so that they do not face a more painful and regrettable fate.”

“The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and dear Iran have their finger on the trigger, more prepared than ever, ready to carry out the orders and measures of the supreme commander-in-chief — a leader dearer than their own lives,” he said, referring to Khamenei.

Another senior military figure, General Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi, who leads the Iranian joint command headquarters, warned that in the case of an attack by the United States, “all US interests, bases and centers of influence” would be “legitimate targets” for the Iranian armed forces.

The prospect of........

© The Times of Israel