WASHINGTON, United States, Jan 21, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - President Donald Trump on Tuesday reiterated a warning that Iran would be wiped "off the face of this earth" if Tehran ever succeeded in assassinating the US leader.

In a heated exchange of threats, Iran and the United States both threatened broadscale wars if the leaders of either country are assassinated.

"I have very firm instructions. Anything happens, they're going to wipe them off the face of this earth," Trump said in a News Nation interview that aired Tuesday, in response to a question on Iran's threats on the 79-year-old's life.

Earlier Tuesday, in response to any threats facing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iranian General Abolfazl Shekarchi was quoted as saying Trump already knew Tehran would not hold back if the tables were turned.

"Trump knows that if a hand of aggression is extended toward our leader, we will not only sever that hand, and this is not a mere slogan," Shekarchi was quoted as telling Iranian state media.

"But we will set their world on fire and leave them no safe haven in the region."

Trump issued a similar warning to Iran a year ago, shortly after returning to the White House, when he told reporters "if they do it, they get obliterated."

Iran is still reeling from violence unleashed during some of the biggest anti-government protests since the Islamic revolution in 1979.

Human rights groups are working to confirm the number of people killed during the protests, with the Human Rights Activists News Agency reporting more than 4,000 confirmed deaths.

The Norway-based Iran Human Rights NGO has said verification of deaths in the crackdown remains severely hampered due to the communication restrictions, but noted on Monday that available information "indicates that the number of protesters killed may exceed even the highest media estimates", which reach 20,000.

Iranians began holding mass demonstrations to call for relief from economic woes in December, when the country's currency hit a new low under the leadership of the 86-year-old ayatollah, who has resisted democratic reform for decades.

Many in Iran's global diaspora, including exiled Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi, have called for US intervention against the ruling apparatus in Tehran.

Ebadi urged "highly targeted actions" against Iran's supreme leader and commanders of his Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.