Tehran warns of regional conflict if US attacks Iran

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that if the U.S. attacked Iran it would become a regional conflict, state media reported on Sunday, amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran.

The U.S. has built up its naval presence in the Middle East after President Donald Trump repeatedly threatened Iran with intervention if it did not agree to a nuclear deal or failed to stop killing protesters.

"(Trump) regularly says that he brought ships (...) The Iranian nation shall not be scared by these things, the Iranian people will not be stirred by these threats," Khamenei said.

"We are not the initiators and do not want to attack any country, but the Iranian nation will strike a strong blow against anyone who attacks and harasses them."

A diplomatic solution remains on the cards, with Tehran saying it is ready for "fair" negotiations that do not seek to curtail its defensive capabilities.

The U.S. Navy currently has six destroyers, one aircraft carrier, and three littoral combat ships in the region.

The protests, which started in late December over economic hardships but morphed into the most acute political challenge to the Islamic Republic since its establishment in 1979, have now abated after repression.

Official numbers put the unrest-related death toll at 3,117, while U.S.-based HRANA rights group said on Sunday it had so far verified the death of 6,713 people. Reuters was unable to independently verify the numbers.

Khamenei likened the protests to a "coup", saying that the goal of the "sedition" was to attack the centres that govern the country, state media reported.

-Dubai Newsroom; Editing by Alexander Smith and Jane Merriman/Reuters