Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, warned on Sunday that any attack on the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, would be a declaration of war. On Wednesday the US came close to launching military strikes on Iran but ultimately pulled back as Trump opted to pause amid mounting regional and diplomatic pressure. “However, I am worried because I received news that he has been tortured under custody and hasn’t received medical attention yet. During a speech on Thursday, Khamenei acknowledged for the first time that thousands of people had been killed, “some in an inhuman, savage manner”. No protests have been reported for days in Iran, where the streets have returned to an uneasy calm.

Source: The Guardian January 18, 2026 22:41 UTC