‘You will reap the whirlwind’: Tehran mural warns of retaliation if US strikes Iran

Iranian authorities unveiled a new mural on a giant billboard in a central Tehran square on Sunday with a direct warning to the United States to not attempt a military strike on the country, as US warships head to the region.The image shows a bird’s-eye view of an aircraft carrier with damaged and exploding fighter planes on its flight deck. The deck is strewn with bodies and streaked with blood that trails into the water behind the ship to form a pattern reminiscent of the stripes of the US flag. A slogan is emblazoned across one corner: “If you sow the wind, you will reap the whirlwind.”The unveiling of the mural in Enghelab Square comes as the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and accompanying warships move toward the region. The US president, Donald Trump, has said the ships are being moved “just in case” he decides to take action.“We have a massive fleet heading in that direction and maybe we won’t have to use it,” Trump said on Thursday.Enghelab Square is used for gatherings called by the state and authorities change its mural based on national occasions. On Saturday, the commander of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard warned that his force is “more ready than ever, finger on the trigger”.A sign in Farsi and English reads, ‘If you sow the wind, you’ll reap the whirlwind,’ at Enqelab-e-Eslami (Islamic Revolution) Square in Tehran, Iran. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty ImagesTension between the US and Iran have spiked in the wake of a brutal crackdown on nationwide protests that saw thousands of people killed and tens of thousands arrested. Trump had threatened military action if Iran continued to kill peaceful protesters or carried out mass executions of those detained.There have been no further protests for days and Trump claimed recently that Tehran had halted the planned execution of about 800 arrested protesters – a claim Iran’s top prosecutor called “completely false”.But Trump has indicated he is keeping his options open, saying on Thursday that any military action would make last June’s US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites “look like peanuts”.The US military said on social media that its air force F-15E Strike Eagle now has a presence in the Middle East, noting the fighter jet “enhances combat readiness and promotes regional security and stability”.Similarly, the UK Ministry of Defence said on Thursday that it deployed its Typhoon fighter jets to Qatar “in a defensive capacity”.The protests in Iran began on 28 December sparked by the fall of the Iranian currency, the rial, and quickly spread across the country. The death toll reported by activists has continued to rise since the end of the demonstrations, as information trickles out despite a more than two-week internet blackout – the most comprehensive in Iran’s history.