Iran army chief threatens preemptive attack over 'rhetoric' targeting country after Trump's comments

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran's army chief threatened preemptive military action Wednesday over the ''rhetoric'' targeting the Islamic Republic, likely referring to U.S. President Donald Trump's warning that if Tehran ''violently kills peaceful protesters,'' the United States ''will come to their rescue."

The comments by Maj. Gen. Amir Hatami come as Iran tries to respond to what it sees as a dual threat posed by Israel and the United States, as well as the protests sparked by its economic woes that have grown into a direct challenge to its theocracy.

Seeking to halt the anger, Iran's government began Wednesday paying the equivalent of $7 a month to subsidize rising costs for dinner table essentials like rice, meat and pastas. Shopkeepers warn prices for items as basic as cooking oil likely will triple under pressure from the collapse of Iran's rial currency and the end of a preferential subsidized dollar-rial exchange rate for importers and manufacturers — likely fueling further popular anger.

''More than a week of protests in Iran reflects not only worsening economic conditions, but longstanding anger at government repression and regime policies that have led to Iran's global isolation,'' the New York-based Soufan Center think tank said.

Army chief's threat

Hatami spoke to military academy students. He took over as commander in chief of Iran's army, known by the Farsi word "Artesh," after Israel killed a number of the country's top military commanders in June's 12-day war. He is the first regular military officer in decades to hold a position long controlled by Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

''The Islamic Republic considers the intensification of such rhetoric against the Iranian nation as a threat and will not leave its continuation without a response," Hatami said, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.

Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have been responding to Trump's comments, which took on more significance after the U.S. military raid that seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a longtime ally of Tehran, over the weekend. But there's been no immediate public sign of Iran preparing for an attack in the region.

New subsidy payment begins

Iranian state television reported on the start of a new subsidy of the equivalent of $7, put into the bank accounts of heads of households across the country. More than 71 million people will receive the benefit, which is 10 million Iranian rials, it reported. The rial now trades at over 1.4 million to $1 and continues to depreciate.

The subsidy is more than double than the 4.5 million rial people previously received. But already, Iranian media report sharp rises in the cost of basic goods, including cooking oil, poultry and cheese, placing additional strain on households already burdened by international sanctions targeting the country and inflation.

Iran's vice president in charge of executive affairs, Mohammad Jafar Ghaempanah, told reporters on Wednesday that the country was in a ''full-fledged economic war.'' He called for ''economic surgery'' to eliminate rentier policies and corruption within the country.

Iran has faced rounds of nationwide protests in recent years. As sanctions tightened and Iran struggled after the June war with Israel, its rial currency sharply fell in December. Protests began soon after on Dec. 28. They reached their 11th day on Wednesday and didn't appear to be stopping.

Social media videos purported to show new cities like Bojnourd, Kerman, Rasht, Shiraz and Tabriz, as well some smaller towns, joining the demonstrations on Wednesday.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency offered the latest death toll of 36 for the demonstrations. It said 30 protesters, four children and two members of Iran's security forces have been killed. Demonstrations have reached over 310 locations in 28 of Iran's 31 provinces. More than 2,100 people have been arrested, it said.