A senior Iranian official stated that Iran will treat any attack "as an all-out war against us," on Friday, ahead of the arrival of a United States military aircraft carrier strike group and other assets in the Middle East region, which is expected in the coming days.
"This military buildup - we hope it is not intended for real confrontation - but our military is ready for the worst-case scenario. This is why everything is on high alert in Iran," said the senior Iranian official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"This time we will treat any attack - limited, unlimited, surgical, kinetic, whatever they call it - as an all-out war against us, and we will respond in the hardest way possible to settle this," the official said.
'An armada' heading towards Iran
US President Donald Trump stated that his administration is watching Iran very closely during comments made to reporters aboard Air Force One on Thursday.
Trump also warned the Iranian regime that the US has "a massive armada" heading in their direction.
The president added that he threatened Iran with US airstrikes if the Islamic Republic's regime carried out hangings of protesters and political dissidents as planned, and that Tehran backed down as a result of the threats.
This is a developing story.