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Reuters

Tehran threatened on Sunday to retaliate against Israel and US military bases ‍in the event of US strikes on Iran, issuing the warning as Israeli sources said Israel was on high alert for the possibility of any US intervention.
With Iran’s clerical establishment facing the biggest anti-government protests since 2022, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene in recent days, warning Iranian leaders against using force against demonstrators. On Saturday, Trump said the US stands “ready to help”.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, speaking in parliament on Sunday, warned against “a miscalculation”.
“Let us be ⁠clear: in the case of an attack on Iran, the occupied territories [Israel] as well as all US bases and ships will be our legitimate target,” said Qalibaf, a former commander in Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards.
Death toll increases
Authorities have stepped up efforts to quell the unrest that has spread across Iran since December 28.
“Since the start of the protests, Iran Human Rights has confirmed the killing of at least 192 protesters,” the Norway-based non-governmental organisation said, warning that the deaths “may be even more extensive than we currently imagine.”
A US-based rights group, HRANA, reported the deaths of 37 members of the security forces.
The protests began in response to soaring inflation, before turning against the clerical establishment that has ruled since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The government accuses the US and Israel of fomenting ‍unrest.


Three Israeli sources, who were present for Israeli security consultations over the weekend, said Israel was on a high-alert footing but did not elaborate on what that meant.
An Israeli government spokesperson declined to ‍comment. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Israel and Iran fought a 12-day war in June last year, in which the US joined Israel in launching air strikes. Iran retaliated for those US strikes by firing missiles at an American airbase in Qatar.
The flow of information from Iran has ‌been hampered by an internet blackout imposed by the authorities since Thursday. Internet monitoring watchdog Netblocks reported national connectivity levels remained about 1 per cent of the norm.
A video posted to social media on Saturday and verified by journalists showed large crowds gathered in ‍Tehran’s Punak neighbourhood at night, drumming rhythmically on the railings of a bridge or other metal objects in an apparent sign of protest.
Iranian state TV broadcast funeral processions in western Iranian cities such as Gachsaran and Yasuj for members of the security forces killed in the protests. The authorities have not said how many have been killed.
State TV reported that 30 members of the security forces would be buried in the central city of Isfahan, and that six security force members were killed ‌by “rioters” in ⁠Kermanshah in the west. State TV also reported a mosque was torched by “rioters” in Mashhad, in the northeast, on Saturday night.
The Revolutionary Guards on Saturday accused “terrorists” of attacking security facilities.
Ahmad-Reza Radan, Iran’s police chief, said security forces had stepped up efforts to confront “rioters”.

Iran’s rulers have quelled previous bouts of unrest, most recently in 2022 over the death in custody of a woman accused of violating dress codes.
US ​official sees ‘endurance game’ in Iran
Trump, posting on social media on Saturday, said, “Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!”
In a phone call on Saturday, Israeli Prime ‌Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed the possibility of US intervention in Iran, according to an Israeli source who was present for the conversation.
A US official confirmed the two men spoke but did not say what topics they discussed.
A senior US intelligence official on Saturday described the situation in Iran as an “endurance game”. The opposition ‌was trying to keep up pressure until key government ‌figures either flee or switch sides, while the authorities were trying to sow enough fear to clear the streets without giving the United States justification to intervene, the official said.
Israel has not signalled a desire to intervene, with tensions between the two arch-foes high over Israeli concerns about Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.
In an interview with the Economist published on Friday, Netanyahu said there would be horrible consequences for Iran if it were to attack Israel. Alluding to the protests, he said: “Everything else, I think we should see what is happening inside Iran.”


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Iran

Iran will target US, Israel if Trump strikes over protest

Iranians block a street during a protest in Tehran on Friday. Photo: AFP/Getty Images/TNS

Pro-government demonstrators chanting slogans as they march along a main street in Khorramabad, western Iran, on Friday. Photo: AFP

Protest fury pushes Iran to the edge of ‘social revolution’

Iranians gather while blocking a street during a protest in Kermanshah, Iran, on Thursday. Photo: TNS

A video screengrab shows people blocking an intersection during a protest in Tehran, Iran, on Thursday. Photo: UGC via AP

An Iranian man walks past a street market in Tehran, Iran, on Wednesday. The country is facing a wave of anti-government protests amid a deepening economic crisis. Photo: EPA

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, has come under fire from potential successors. Photo: Khamenei.ir / AFP

Protesters march on a bridge in Tehran, Iran, on December 29. Analysts warn that pressure is mounting on the Iranian leadership. Photo: Fars News Agency via AP

Crackdown fears grow as Iran rocked by new rallies: ‘most blatant tools of repression’

A frame grab from video shows a fire as people protest in Tehran, Iran, on Friday. Photo: UGC via AP

Protesters gather as vehicles burn, amid evolving anti-government unrest, in Tehran, Iran, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video released on Friday. Photo: Handout via Reuters

A frame grab from video shows people during a protest in Tehran, Iran, on Friday. Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has blamed the US for stoking unrest. Photo: UGC via AP

Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s ousted shah, during a news conference in June 2025 in Paris. He says he is “preparing to return to my homeland” at a time he believes is “very near”. Photo: AP

Pro-government demonstrators chant slogans as they march along a main street in Khorramabad, western Iran, on Friday. Photo: Iran Press / AFP

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Middle East

Israel is also on high alert for the possibility of a US intervention to support ‌Tehran’s protest movement


Israel is also on high alert for the possibility of a US intervention to support ‌Tehran’s protest movement.


Iran will target US, Israel if Trump strikes over protest

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Israel is also on high alert for the possibility of a US intervention to support ‌Tehran’s protest movement

Death toll increases

Israel is also on high alert for the possibility of a US intervention to support ‌Tehran’s protest movement