Dubai | Iran's supreme leader warned the United States on Sunday that if “they start a war, this time it will be a regional war”.

The comments from the 86-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei are the most-direct threat he's made so far.

Iranian state television reported the comments online.

It added that Khamenei said: “We are not the instigators and we do not seek to attack any country. But the Iranian nation will deliver a firm blow to anyone who attacks or harasses it.”