Khamenei accuses US of plotting civil war in Iran

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday accused the United States of attempting to plunge Iran into chaos by trying to stage a civil war in the country with the help of economic sanctions and security issues.

"The US is planning to cause a civil war by creating divisions in Iran through economic sanctions and security issues," Khamenei was quoted by Anadolu News Agency as saying.

He made the remarks while speaking to families of Iranian soldiers who died in the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s and in the Syrian civil war since 2011.

Warning of repercussions from their side, Khamenei urged the people to remain "vigilant".

Last week, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif chided the US over its "unbelievable" sale of weapons to the Middle East, saying that it is turning the region into a "powder keg". Slamming the US government, Zarif asserted that the arms being brought to the Middle East would undermine peace and security in the region.

Ties between Tehran and Washington have soured after the US slapped sanctions on Iran, citing the latter's support to state-sponsored terrorism and conflicts.

On November 5, the Donald Trump administration had imposed the "toughest-ever" sanctions on Iran's banking, energy and shipping industries, with an aim to alter the "behaviour" of the country's regime.