Ali Shamkhani was referring to the United States’ abrupt military withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, after maintaining a strong military presence there for nearly two decades. That withdrawal saw the US leave behind nearly a million weapons and large quantities of military equipment, most of it funded by Washington, which eventually fell into the hands of the Taliban. He cited this episode as an example of what he described as America’s failed “rescue operations” abroad.
His remarks came shortly after former US President Donald Trump issued a warning threatening military action against Iran if peaceful protesters were harmed. Responding to the statement, Shamkhani, a senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, mocked Trump’s remarks and said Iranians were well aware of how such American interventions had played out in the past, including in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Gaza.
Shamkhani recalled how the US exit from Afghanistan unfolded in chaos after years of occupation, leaving behind weapons and instability. He also pointed to the American withdrawal from Iraq at the start of the previous decade, which he said ultimately contributed to the rise of the Islamic State group and led to years of violence that devastated the country between 2013 and 2017.
Accusing Trump of engaging in what he described as reckless “adventurism,” Shamkhani warned the United States to take care of its own forces rather than issuing threats. He said any attempt to interfere in Iran’s internal affairs would be met with a swift and severe response before such actions could even materialise.
In a post on X, Shamkhani stated that Iran’s national security was a red line and not something to be tested through provocative rhetoric. He warned that any intervention under the pretext of protecting security would be met with consequences, describing such actions as irresponsible and dangerous. He added that Iranians were fully aware of the US record of interventions and did not view them as acts of rescue.
Earlier, Trump had posted a warning aimed directly at Iran’s leadership, saying that if Iranian authorities used violence against peaceful protesters, the United States would step in. He claimed that the US was “locked and loaded” and prepared to act, a statement that quickly drew reactions from Iranian officials.
As reports circulated on social media about chants calling for the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the return of Iran’s exiled monarch, Iranian officials dismissed the claims. Ahmad Alamolhoda, Khamenei’s representative in Iran’s Razavi Khorasan province, said the videos and audio circulating online were fabricated.
According to Alamolhoda, foreign media outlets, particularly Israeli platforms and what he described as enemy-aligned sources, had used artificial intelligence to manipulate footage. He claimed that chants were digitally added to create the false impression that large sections of Iranian society had turned against the Islamic Republic.
He further alleged that the goal of these fabricated clips was to suggest that Iranians wanted the current system to collapse. Among the slogans allegedly heard in the videos were chants calling for clerics to leave the country and slogans praising the former monarchy, including “Javid Shah,” meaning “long live the Shah.”
