DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranian authorities on Sunday unveiled a new mural on a giant billboard in a central Tehran square that directly warned the United States not to attempt a military strike against the country as U.S. warships sail toward the region.
The image shows an aerial view of an aircraft carrier with damaged and exploded fighter jets on its flight deck. The decks were strewn with bodies and stained with blood, which flowed into the water behind the ship, creating a pattern reminiscent of the stripes of the American flag. A slogan hangs in the corner: “Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind.”
The unveiling of the mural in Enkhrab Square comes as the USS Abraham Lincoln and accompanying warships sail toward the area. US President Donald Trump said the ships were being moved “just in case” he decided to take action.
“We have a huge fleet heading in that direction and maybe we don’t have to use it,” Trump said Thursday.
Enkhrab Square is used for state-called rallies, and the authorities change its murals according to state occasions. On Saturday, the commander of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard warned that his troops were “more ready than ever to pull the trigger.”
Tensions between the United States and Iran have increased following a brutal crackdown on protests across the country that left thousands dead and tens of thousands arrested. Trump has threatened military action if Iran continues to kill peaceful protesters or carry out mass executions of detainees.
There have been no further protests in days, and Trump recently claimed that Tehran had halted planned executions of some 800 arrested protesters – a claim that Iran’s top prosecutor called “completely false.”
But Trump said he was keeping his options open, saying on Thursday that any military action would make the U.S. strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities last June “look trivial.”
U.S. Central Command said on social media that its Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles are now in the Middle East, noting that the fighter jets “enhance combat readiness and promote regional security and stability.”
Likewise, the UK Ministry of Defense said on Thursday it had deployed Typhoon fighter jets to Qatar “in a defensive capacity”.
The protests in Iran began on December 28, triggered by the devaluation of the Iranian currency, the rial, and quickly spread across the country. They are violently suppressed by Iran’s theocracy, which does not tolerate dissent.
The death toll reported by activists has continued to rise since the demonstrations ended, with information continuing to spread despite an internet outage for more than two weeks – the most comprehensive in Iran’s history.
The American Human Rights Activists News Agency put the death toll at 5,848 on Sunday, with the death toll expected to rise. More than 41,280 people are said to have been arrested.
The group has provided accurate figures from previous riots and relied on a network of Iranian activists to verify the death toll. The death toll exceeds that of any other round of protests or riots in the region in decades, recalling the chaos surrounding Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution. The Associated Press has not been able to independently verify the death toll.
The Iranian government puts the death toll at a much lower 3,117, saying 2,427 of them were civilians and security forces, and calling the remainder “terrorists.” In the past, Iran’s theocratic regime has underestimated or failed to report the death toll from unrest.