Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei warned the United States and Israel on Saturday against returning to war, issuing the message in a written statement published on his website as reports from Tehran described threats of a possible attack by the two countries. The warning, captured in the phrase “Don’t make the mistake of going back to war,” was directed at Washington and Israel amid tensions over Iran’s current administration.
A written warning amid renewed threats
Khamenei delivered his message through a written statement rather than a public address, according to reports from Tehran. The statement appeared on his website on Saturday. Its central point was a warning to the United States and Israel not to resume hostilities with Iran. The reports placed the message against the backdrop of threats of a possible attack by the two countries, although the summary of the statement does not provide details about the nature, timing or source of those threats.
The warning is notable for its direct address to both countries. Khamenei did not frame the message solely as a response to Washington or solely as a response to Israel; the statement was reported as cautioning both against a return to war. The phrase in the headline of reports on the statement calls on the two countries not to make the mistake of going back to war, underscoring that the message was intended as a warning about renewed conflict.
The reports describe the United States and Israel as critics of Iran’s current administration. That political context helps explain the focus of Khamenei’s remarks, but the available account does not provide further details about the specific criticism or identify a particular event that prompted the statement. It also does not set out a timetable for any possible action by either country.
What the statement establishes
The reported message establishes that Iran’s supreme leader publicly warned Washington and Israel against returning to war and that he did so in a written statement published on his website. It comes amid reported threats of a possible attack, but the warning itself should not be confused with confirmation that an attack has been ordered or that fighting has resumed. The information provided describes a warning, not a report of military action.
The distinction matters because the language of the statement concerns the risk of returning to war, while the reports do not describe an active conflict at the time the message was issued. Nor do they provide specific operational details, such as a target, a date or a plan. The available account likewise does not quote any response from Washington or Israel. Without those details, the statement can be reported as a clear warning, but not as evidence of a new attack or of a confirmed decision by either country to begin one.
Khamenei’s choice to publish the warning in writing also meant that the message was presented directly through his own website, as reported by Tehran-based accounts. The reports do not offer further information about the circumstances surrounding publication or whether the statement was accompanied by additional comments. Its published form and its direct reference to the United States and Israel are the specific details supplied about how the warning was delivered.
A cautious message in a tense climate
The statement’s wording places renewed war at the center of the message: Khamenei cautioned the two countries against returning to hostilities. In the context described by reports, that warning followed threats of a possible attack and came amid criticism of Iran’s current administration by the United States and Israel. The available information does not establish that the threats led to any immediate change in the situation, or that the statement included a new policy announcement.
For now, the reported development is the warning itself. It signals that Iran’s supreme leader has addressed the possibility of renewed conflict directly, while the reporting available here leaves the underlying threats and any response from the two countries unspecified. Further developments would be needed to clarify whether the warning is followed by a response from Washington or Jerusalem, or whether the reported threat of an attack changes. Khamenei’s message, as reported, is a call to avoid a return to war rather than an account of hostilities already under way.
