Tehran 20 January 2026

20 January 2026

President Trump explained: “They [Iranian authorities] were going to hang 837 people…and we let them know that if that happens that it will be a very bad day for them, and they decided not to do it….Is the military option off the table? No”. Separately, he warned Iran against attempting to assassinate him, saying: “I have very firm instructions. Anything happens, they’re [U.S. forces] going to wipe them off the face of this earth”. The same day, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned: “Our powerful armed forces have no qualms about firing back with everything we have if we come under renewed attack…. An all-out confrontation will certainly be ferocious and drag on far, far longer than the fantasy timelines that Israel and its proxies are trying to peddle to the White House. It will certainly engulf the wider region and have an impact on ordinary people around the globe”. Araghchi urged President Trump to “think differently” and “try respect”.