Iran warns that US forces and Israel will be targets if America launches strikes on protests
Dubai, United Arab Emirates — Dubai, United Arab Emirates (AFP) – Nationwide protests challenge theocracy in Iran Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and second-largest city as of Sunday, surpassing the two-week mark, as violence surrounding the demonstrations left at least 116 people dead, activists said.
With the Internet outage in Iran and the phone lines being cut offMeasuring demonstrations coming from abroad has become more difficult. But the death toll in the protests rose, while 2,600 others were arrested, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.
Meanwhile, the speaker of Iran’s parliament warned that the US military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America strikes the Islamic Republic, as President Donald Trump has threatened. Ghalibaf made this threat as lawmakers rushed to the Iranian parliament podium chanting: “Death to America.”
Those outside fear that the information blackout will embolden hardliners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown, despite Trump’s warnings that he is prepared to strike the Islamic Republic to protect peaceful protesters.
Trump offered support to the protesters, saying on social media that “Iran aspires to freedom, perhaps like never before. The United States stands ready to help!!!” The New York Times and Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous US officials, said on Saturday night that Trump had been given military options to strike Iran, but had not made a final decision.
The State Department separately warned: “Don’t play with President Trump. When he says he’s going to do something, he means it.”
Iranian state television broadcast the parliament session live. Ghalibaf, a hardliner who has run for president in the past, gave a speech in which he praised the police and Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, especially the all-volunteer Basij force, for “standing firm” during the protests.
Ghalibaf said: “The Iranian people should know that we will deal with them in the harshest ways and we will punish the detainees.”
He went on to directly threaten Israel, the “occupied territory” as he referred to it, and the US military, perhaps as a pre-emptive strike.
“In the event of an attack on Iran, the occupied territories and all US military centers, bases and ships in the region will be legitimate targets for us,” Qalibaf said. He added: “We do not consider ourselves limited to reacting after action and will act based on any objective signs of a threat.”
It remains unclear how serious Iran is about launching a strike, especially after seeing its air defenses destroyed during the 12-day war in June with Israel. Any decision to go to war will be in the hands of Iran’s 86-year-old Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The US military in the Middle East said it is “equipped with forces that span the full range of combat capability to defend our forces, our partners, our allies, and the interests of the United States.”
Videos sent over the Internet from Iran, using Starlink satellite transmitters, allegedly showed protesters gathering in the Bonak neighborhood in northern Tehran. There, authorities appeared to have blocked off the streets, and demonstrators waved their lit cell phones. Others banged metal while fireworks went off.
Other footage allegedly showed protesters walking peacefully down a street and others honking their car horns in the street.
In Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city, about 725 kilometers (450 miles) northeast of Tehran, the footage allegedly shows protesters confronting security forces. Burning debris and garbage containers were seen in the street, blocking the road. Mashhad is home to the Imam Reza Shrine, the holiest shrine for Shiites, making the protests there of great importance to the country’s theocratic regime.
Protests also appear to have occurred in Kerman, 800 kilometers (500 miles) southeast of Tehran.
Iranian state television on Sunday morning took a page from the protesters, with its reporters appearing on the streets of several cities to show quiet areas with the date stamp appearing on the screen. Tehran and Mashhad were not included. They also showed pro-government demonstrations in Qom and Qazvin.
Khamenei He indicated a coming crackdown, despite American warnings. Tehran escalated its threats on Saturday, with Iran’s prosecutor general, Mohammad Movahedi Azad, warning that anyone participating in the protests would be considered an “enemy of God,” a charge that could carry the death penalty. The statement broadcast on Iranian state television said that even those who “helped the rioters” would face charges.
Iran’s clerical government cut off the country from the Internet and international phone calls on Thursday, though it allowed some state-owned and semi-official media outlets to publish. The Qatari state-funded Al Jazeera news network has been reporting directly from Iran, but it appears to be the only major foreign outlet able to operate.
Exiled Iranian Crown Prince Reza PahlaviHe, who called for protests on Thursday and Friday, in his last message asked the demonstrators to take to the streets on Saturday and Sunday. He urged protesters to carry Iran’s ancient lion-and-sun flag and other national symbols used under the Shah to “claim public spaces as their own.”
Pahlavi Support to and from Israel has drawn criticism In the past, especially after the 12 Day War. Demonstrators chanted support for the Shah at some protests, but it is not clear whether this was support for Pahlavi himself or a desire to return to a time before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The demonstrations began on December 28 over the collapse of Iran’s currency, the rial, which trades at more than $1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy comes under pressure due to international sanctions imposed in part over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and evolved into calls directly challenging the theocracy in Iran.
