ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Thursday warned the US and Israel to avoid “any miscalculations,” saying they would face a painful and regrettable fate, as US President Donald Trump said Tehran is interested in discussions. 

Tensions between Iran and the US have intensified in recent weeks, with Washington warning Iran of potential attacks if it continues cracking down on protesters or expands its nuclear and missile programs, and Tehran responding with threats of retaliation.

The tensions reached their peak earlier in January when Trump canceled talks with Iranian officials and told protestors in Iran that “help is on its way,” with him later saying the killings had stopped.

“We warn the criminal, thug, and inhuman enemies, especially America and the fake and racist Zionist regime, to avoid any miscalculations, learning from historical experiences and what they have learned in the imposed 12-day war, so that they do not face a more painful and regrettable fate,” IRGC commander Mohammad Pakpour said in a statement. 

He added that the IRGC is “ready to take action, more than ever,” upon the orders of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. 

In the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday, Trump said that Tehran appears interested in talks. 

“Iran does want to talk, and we'll talk," Trump said, adding that Washington struck Tehran’s nuclear facilities in June to prevent the Islamic republic from obtaining nuclear weapons.

"Can't let that happen," he said about Tehran acquiring an atomic bomb, despite Iranian officials repeatedly stressing that nuclear weapons are not in the Islamic republic’s doctrine. 

Pakpour’s comments came after US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff expressed hope a day prior to reaching a deal with Tehran on missiles, nuclear enrichment, and non-state proxies.

“If we can’t find consensus on it, I don’t think it’s such a good day for that country or for the world at large,” Witkoff said during an interview with CNBC.

Witkoff, previously engaged in several rounds of indirect talks with Iran aimed at reviving the failed 2015 nuclear deal, which came to a halt with the outbreak of the June war.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday warned Washington that Tehran’s armed forces “have no qualms about firing back with everything we have if we come under renewed attack,” in an opinion piece published by the Wall Street Journal.

Araghchi added that “this isn’t a threat, but a reality,” stressing that he feels the need to convey the message clearly because, as a diplomat and veteran, he “abhors war.”

Khamenei, in his latest speech, blamed Washington for casualties in the nationwide unrest, which he described as “American sedition,” warning that Tehran would not let what he described as international and internal criminals go unpunished.

Iran’s top security body has warned that threats against Khamenei would amount to “a declaration of war with the entire Islamic world,” cautioning that a Jihad decree and retaliation could follow.

Iran has been rocked by nationwide protests since late last year, which have spread to the majority of provinces and increasingly targeted the government. Rights monitors say Iranian security forces have killed more than 4,900 protesters, injured over 7,300, and arrested more than 26,000.

As tensions rise, in an unconfirmed report, ship-tracking service MarineTraffic said the US Navy’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and its accompanying carrier strike group have been redirected from the South China Sea toward the Middle East in recent weeks.