DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A new mural unveiled in a central Tehran square on Sunday contains a direct warning by Iran to the United States to not attempt a military strike on the country.<\/p>\n
The painted image of several damaged planes on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier bears the slogan: \u201cIf you sow the wind, you will reap the whirlwind.\u201d<\/p>\n
The unveiling of the mural in Enghelab Square comes as the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and accompanying warships move towards the region<\/a>. U.S. President Donald Trump has said the ships are being moved \u201cjust in case\u201d he decides to take action.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a massive fleet heading in that direction and maybe we won\u2019t have to use it,\u201d Trump said Thursday.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard warned that his force<\/a> is \u201cmore ready than ever, finger on the trigger.\u201d<\/p>\n Tension between the U.S. and Iran has spiked in the wake of a brutal crackdown on nationwide protests<\/a> that saw thousands of people killed and tens of thousands arrested. Trump had threatened military action<\/a> if Iran continued to kill peaceful protesters or carried out mass executions of those detained.<\/p>\n There have been no further protests for days, and Trump claimed recently that Tehran had halted the executions of about 800 arrested protesters \u2014 a claim Iran\u2019s top prosecutor<\/a> called \u201ccompletely false.\u201d<\/p>\n But Trump has indicated he is keeping his options open, saying on Thursday that any military action would make last June\u2019s U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites<\/a> \u201clook like peanuts.\u201d<\/p>\n 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 \u201cenhances combat readiness and promotes regional security and stability.\u201d<\/p>\n Similarly, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said Thursday<\/a> that it deployed its Typhoon fighter jets to Qatar \u201cin a defensive capacity.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019s theocracy, which does not tolerate dissent.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> \u2014 the most comprehensive in Iran\u2019s history.<\/p>\n