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Iran is facing a growing political crisis as hardline groups accuse the country’s top leaders of carrying out a “soft coup” after reaching an agreement with the United States. The accusations have intensified as Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has remained out of public view, according to a CNN report. The tensions became visible during the funeral of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran last week. As President Masoud Pezeshkian walked beside Khamenei’s coffin, some mourners shouted “death to the compromiser” instead of mourning the late leader.

Iran Military Warns US of ‘Heavier Costs’

According to the state media broadcast, the top military commander vowed to fortify internal solidarity across the nation by strengthening the bond between the armed forces, the Iranian public, and state officials.

He further committed to expanding the scale of resistance against American actions, pledging to “impose heavier costs” on the US than encountered during past military conflicts.

Detailing the underlying strategy of Washington’s actions, Abdullahi claimed that the US has shifted its focus towards internal subversion after failing to achieve its objectives on the battlefield.

“The enemy, following successive defeats in the military conflict, has taken comfort in creating division and discord between the people and their leaders,” Abdullahi said.

Framing the country’s military capabilities as a guarantee of national stability, the commander emphasised the geographical reach of Iran’s deterrence posture.

“Our dear country’s defensive power is a solid foundation for the peace and security of the proud and courageous nation from south to north and from east to west of the glorious and vast Iranian land,” Abdullahi added.

At one public gathering, Mohammad Ali Bakhshi, a regime-aligned religious singer, warned President Pezeshkian: “Mr President, if the leader’s conditions are not fulfilled, then it will be us, the blade and your throat. We will bring hell upon you”.

Iran Launches Drone Strikes on US Bases

Translating this aggressive rhetoric into immediate kinetic action, the Iranian military subsequently announced that it had launched targeted drone strikes against two United States military installations in Kuwait, characterising the operation as direct retaliation for American strikes executed on Iranian soil.

According to a statement broadcast by the state media outlet, the Islamic Republic’s armed forces confirmed that the operation involved “large-scale attacks with kamikaze drones against the US military’s ammunition depot at Camp Udairi and the Patriot radar system and air surveillance radar at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait”.

This Iranian offensive followed a fresh round of American airstrikes conducted against Iran on Sunday. The Pentagon stated that its operation was launched after a lethal drone and missile attack on a military outpost in Jordan on Friday killed two American service members, left one missing, and resulted in the hospitalisation of four others.

16 US Troops Killed Since Conflict Began

According to US Central Command, these retaliatory strikes were explicitly intended to “swiftly punish” Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and further reduce Iran’s ability to restrict the movement of oil tankers through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a maritime transit corridor that accounted for nearly 20 per cent of the world’s oil supplies prior to the war.

Detailing the impact of the American strikes, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency, citing local authorities in the southern Hormozgan province, reported that an area situated near Sirik on the Strait of Hormuz was targeted at approximately 01:30 am local time.

While Central Command withheld specific details and did not disclose the identities of the two deceased personnel in Jordan, the Pentagon confirmed that this represented the first American troop fatalities caused by direct Iranian fire since the initial phase of the conflict.

Official records indicate that 16 US service members have now been killed and over 430 wounded since the outbreak of hostilities.

Inputs from ANI

The post ‘Us, the Blade and Your Throat’: Iran Hardliners Threaten Leaders Amid Coup Claims, Warns US of ‘Devastating Response’ appeared first on NewsX.