One of Iran’s most senior officials issued a direct threat to U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday, while warning that U.S. military action would trigger retaliation against U.S. forces in the Middle East, Iranian media reported.
The comments came as informed sources confirmed to Fox News Digital that at least one U.S. aircraft carrier is being redeployed to the Middle East amid rising tensions with Tehran.
According to reports, Mohsen Rezai, a senior general of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and a member of Iran’s Expediency Discrimination Committee, issued the threat in a public speech.
“Trump said his hand was on the trigger. We will chop off his hand and fingers,” Rezaei said, according to Iran International.
Top Iranian official downplays death toll, accuses ‘Israeli conspiracy’ as we consider attack
Top Iranian general Mohsen Rezaei has reportedly issued a direct threat to US President Donald Trump as the US redeploys its aircraft carrier amid heightened tensions with Tehran.
(Reuters photo)
The media also said that Rezai insisted that Iran would abandon any idea of a ceasefire if it was attacked.
Read it on the Fox News app
“If we continue to advance, there will be no ceasefire talks,” he said. Rezaei added: “You have not noticed the restraint and strategic patience we have shown. Stop now. Stand back, otherwise none of your bases in the area will be safe.”
The threat surfaced as at least one U.S. aircraft carrier may be heading to the Middle East, sources said.
Officials have not said whether it is the USS Abraham Lincoln currently operating in the South China Sea or one of two carriers that launched from Norfolk and San Diego earlier this week.
Military sources said delivery to the region could take at least a week, with the United States expected to increase air, land and sea assets to provide Trump with military options should he order a strike against Iran.
U.S. officials confirm some U.S. military personnel were told to leave Middle East bases
In this handout photo provided by the U.S. Navy, a RIM-7P NATO Sea Sparrow missile is launched from the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72).
Rezai is one of Iran’s most powerful military figures. He served as commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from 1980 to 1997. He is currently the vice president for economic affairs, secretary of Iran’s Supreme Economic Coordination Council, and a senior figure in Iran’s Islamic Principled Resistance Front.
In 2006, Argentine authorities issued an international arrest warrant for Rezai in connection with the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires. In January 2020, he was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department under Executive Order 13876 for advancing goals that destabilize Iran.
During his tenure, the IRGC expanded domestic repression and supported terrorist proxy groups abroad, including Hezbollah.
US opens new air defense combat team at Qatar base targeted in Iran retaliation attack
Demonstrators burn a poster depicting Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a rally in support of anti-government protests in Iran, Wednesday, January 14, 2026, in Holon, Israel.
At the same time, the unrest in Iran continued into its nineteenth day. According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), at least 2,677 people have been arrested and 1,693 cases are under investigation.
Another agency also reported extended communications outages, including landlines being turned off in some areas.
“They are operating as before, but they are no longer at the pace they were before when they were killing thousands and arresting people,” Ali Safavi of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) told Fox News Digital, claiming there were as many as 50,000 detainees.
Click here to download the Fox News app
“The internet is still completely shut down. Security forces are raiding residential areas and entering people’s rooftops. They are starting to destroy satellite dishes,” Safawi said. Safawi then described ongoing clashes between Tehran and Kermanshah from Wednesday night into Thursday that included shootings.
NCRI president-elect Maryam Rajavi also urged the international community to take immediate action to secure the release of detainees and requested an urgent international fact-finding mission to Iranian prisons.
Original source of the article: Top Iranian general threatens to ‘cut off’ Trump’s control over potential military strikes