TEHRAN — Iranian authorities on Sunday unveiled a new mural on a giant billboard in a central Tehran square, directly warning the United States not to attempt a military attack on the country.
The incident comes shortly after President Donald Trump announced that the United States was moving warships to the region “just in case.”
A sign in Enhelab (Revolution) Square depicts an aircraft carrier loaded with fighter jets damaged and exploding on its deck. Corpses and pools of blood cover the deck, and a trail of blood runs behind the fleet, resembling the stripes of the American flag.
Enherab Square is typically used for state-sponsored rallies, and authorities change the murals based on national events.
The unveiling of the Enhelab Square mural took place as the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and accompanying warships moved towards the area. US President Donald Trump said he was moving the ship in case he took action.
“We have a large fleet heading in that direction and we probably won’t need to use it,” President Trump said Thursday.
President Trump added that any military action would make the earlier U.S. strikes launched in June against Iran’s nuclear facilities “look like peanuts.”
On Saturday, the commander of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guards, a powerful force within Iran’s theocracy, warned the United States and Israel to “avoid any miscalculations” and said his forces were “more ready than ever to pull the trigger.”
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Earlier last week, Iran’s foreign minister also issued a warning to the United States, its most direct threat to date, warning that the Islamic Republic would “resist with all its might if it is exposed to new attacks.”
“Unlike the restraint shown by Iran in June 2025, our powerful military has no hesitation in fighting back with all its might if exposed to a new attack,” Araghchi said in an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal, referring to the 12-day conflict with Israel in June.
“This is not a threat, but a reality that I feel needs to be made clear because as a diplomat and a veteran I hate war.”
The latest escalation in tensions between Iran and the United States comes amid Iran’s continued crackdown on nationwide protests that began on December 28th. The death toll of activists on Friday rose to at least 5,002, according to the US-based Human Rights Defenders News Agency. It is also said that more than 41,280 people have been arrested.
More people are feared to have died as Iran remains under an internet blackout lasting more than two weeks, severely restricting the flow of information.
The demonstrations initially began on December 28 over the collapse of the country’s currency, the rial, but turned into widespread dissatisfaction with the country’s government. — Agency
