Iran’s supreme leader accuses the US of aiming to seize his country’s oil and natural gas resources.Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has warned the United States that any attack on his country would result in a “regional war” as US President Donald Trump amasses military assets in the Middle East.“They should know that if they start a war this time, it will be a regional war,” the 86-year-old supreme leader, who has held absolute power for about 37 years, said at an event in downtown Tehran on Sunday.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listHe was speaking on the anniversary of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s return from exile in France to Iran in 1979, which led to the Iranian Revolution and the fleeing of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi.Khamenei’s comments came as the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, jet fighters and navy destroyers neared the region after nationwide antigovernment protests in Iran, in which thousands of people were killed in January.The protests, which started in late December over the collapse of the Iranian rial, later morphed into a direct challenge to Khamenei’s rule.Iranian authorities maintain that the demonstrators were instigated and led by foreign agents.“The recent sedition was similar to a coup. Of course, the coup was suppressed,” Khamenei said at the commemoration on Sunday.“Their goal was to destroy sensitive and effective centres involved in running the country, and for this reason, they attacked the police, government centres, [Islamic Revolutionary …
