 "Tehran paints threat: Iran’s billboard shows destroyed US carrier as Trump piles military pressure")
Amid the brewing tensions between Iran and the United States, the Iranian authorities unveiled a new billboard in central Tehran Square on Sunday, threatening America against any form of intervention. The development came shortly after US President Donald Trump announced that the country is moving warships to the region “just in case” he wants to take action.
The billboard in Enghelab (Revolution) Square shows an aircraft carrier with damaged and exploding fighter jets on its deck. Bodies and blood of the pool also cover the deck, with trails of blood, which show resemblance to the stripes of the American flag, streaming behind the fleet.
The graphic is accompanied by a slogan which reads: “If you sow the wind, you will reap the whirlwind”. It is important to note that Enghelab Square is typically used for state-organised gatherings, with authorities changing its mural based on national occasions.
The billboard was raised a week after Trump said that the US is “watching Iran” and is moving the ships towards the country “just in case” he wants to take action. “We have a massive fleet heading in that direction, and maybe we won’t have to use it; we’ll see,” he said on Thursday.
Iran hits back
Meanwhile, on Saturday, the commander of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, a powerful force within the country’s theocracy, warned the US and Israel to “avoid any miscalculation,” and that the force is “more ready than ever, finger on the trigger”.
Iran’s foreign minister also warned against the United States last week, insisting that the Islamic Republic will be “firing back with everything we have if we come under renewed attack”.
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View All“Unlike the restraint Iran showed in June 2025, our powerful armed forces have no qualms about firing back with everything we have if we come under renewed attack,” Araghchi wrote in an opinion piece published by The Wall Street Journal, referring to the 12-day conflict with Israel in June. “This isn’t a threat, but a reality I feel I need to convey explicitly, because as a diplomat and a veteran, I abhor war,” he added.
The latest tensions between Tehran and Washington came amid Iran’s ongoing crackdown on nationwide protests that began on 28 December. According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, the death toll rose to at least 5,002 on Friday. It also says more than 41,280 people have been arrested.
Many are feared to be dead as Iran remains under an internet blackout that has lasted more than two weeks, severely restricting the flow of information. The anti-government protests began on December 28 over the collapse of the rial currency, but morphed into wider discontent with the country’s government.
With inputs from the Associated Press.
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