Iran warns US of 'devastating response' if it starts war
Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, made the warning on X, days after the US midterm elections.
Iran's top security official warned Washington on Saturday that it would face a "devastating response" if it started a war, Turkey's state-run news agency Anadolu Agency reported.
Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, wrote on the US social media company X that Washington had "lost the war and the election."
In the same post, he claimed that several US officials were leaving their posts or were about to be removed, and he mocked the commander of US Central Command as a podcaster.
"Start a war, and you'll face a devastating response," he added.
Rezaei also asked who in Washington the message needed to reach.
Democrats won control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the Nov. 3 elections, ending the Republican Party's congressional majorities under President Donald Trump.
The Supreme National Security Council is the body that coordinates national security and defense policy in Iran, and its secretary is one of the country's most senior security officials.
Tensions between Tehran and Washington have run for decades, shaped by disputes over Iran's nuclear program, its role across the Middle East and US sanctions.
The report did not say what specific action by Washington prompted the warning, and it did not describe any US response.
The statement was made by an Iranian official and reflects Tehran's position rather than an independent assessment of US plans.
