Iran unveils mural warning of retaliation if US conducts a military
strike
[January 26, 2026]
By ELENA BECATOROS
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — 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 U.S. 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 American 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. U.S. 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 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.”
Tension between the U.S. and Iran has 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 U.S. strikes on
Iranian nuclear sites “look like peanuts.”
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A man walks among vehicles in front of a billboard depicting a
damaged U.S. aircraft carrier with disabled fighter jets on its deck
and a sign reading in Farsi and English, "If you sow the wind,
you'll reap the whirlwind," at Enqelab-e-Eslami (Islamic Revolution)
Square in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid
Salemi)
U.S. Central Command 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 U.K. Ministry of Defense said Thursday that it
deployed its Typhoon fighter jets to Qatar “in a defensive
capacity.”
The protests in Iran began on Dec. 28, sparked by the fall of the
Iranian currency, the rial, and quickly spread across the country.
They were met by a violent crackdown by Iran’s theocracy, which does
not tolerate dissent.
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.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency on Sunday put the
death toll at 5,848, with the number expected to increase. It says
more than 41,280 people have been arrested.
The group’s figures have been accurate in previous unrest and rely
on a network of activists in Iran to verify deaths. That death toll
exceeds that of any other round of protest or unrest there in
decades, and recalls the chaos surrounding Iran’s 1979 Islamic
Revolution. The Associated Press has not been able to independently
verify the toll.
Iran’s government has put the death toll at a far lower 3,117,
saying 2,427 were civilians and security forces, and labeled the
rest “terrorists.” In the past, Iran’s theocracy has undercounted or
not reported fatalities from unrest.
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