DUBAI – In a bold declaration on Sunday, Iran’s parliamentary leader cautioned that both U.S. military forces and Israel would become “legitimate targets” if the United States follows through on its threats to strike Iran, as suggested by President Donald Trump.
This assertion by Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf marks the inaugural inclusion of Israel as a potential retaliatory target in Iran’s strategic discourse.
Qalibaf, known for his hard-line stance, delivered this message amid a fervent session in the Iranian parliament, where lawmakers vociferously chanted: “Death to America!”
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. The previous Associated Press report continues below.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s capital and its second-largest city have become epicenters of massive protests against the nation’s theocratic regime, with demonstrations persisting into a third week. According to activists, the upheaval has resulted in at least 116 fatalities.
The Iranian government has restricted internet access and disrupted phone communications, complicating external efforts to monitor the situation. Nevertheless, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reports an increasing death toll and the detention of around 2,600 individuals.
Meanwhile, Iran’s parliament met Sunday to discuss the ongoing protests shaking the nation, with lawmakers at one point rushing to the front of the assembly to chant: “Death to America!”
The show in the parliament, controlled by hard-liners, comes as Iran’s theocracy struggles to contain the demonstrations, now two weeks old. Lawmakers later chanted other slogans in support of the government.
Those abroad fear the information blackout will embolden hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown, despite warnings from U.S. President Donald Trump he’s willing to strike the Islamic Republic to protect peaceful demonstrators.
Trump offered support for the protesters, saying on social media that “Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!” The New York Times and Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous U.S. officials, said on Saturday night that Trump had been given military options for a strike on Iran, but hadn’t made a final decision.
The State Department separately warned: “Do not play games with President Trump. When he says he’ll do something, he means it.”
Protests in Tehran and Mashhad
Online videos sent out of Iran, likely using Starlink satellite transmitters, purportedly showed demonstrators gathering in northern Tehran’s Punak neighborhood. There, it appeared authorities shut off streets, with protesters waving their lit mobile phones. Others banged metal while fireworks went off.
Other footage purportedly showed demonstrators peacefully marching down a street and others honking their car horns on the street.
In Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city, some 725 kilometers (450 miles) northeast of Tehran, footage purported to show protesters confronting security forces. Flaming debris and dumpsters could be seen in the street, blocking the road. Mashhad is home to the Imam Reza shrine, the holiest in Shiite Islam, making the protests there carry heavy significance for the country’s theocracy.
Protests also appeared to happen in Kerman, 800 kilometers (500 miles) southeast of Tehran.
Iranian state television on Sunday morning took a page from demonstrators, having their correspondents appear on streets in several cities to show calm areas with a date stamp shown on screen. Tehran and Mashhad were not included. They also showed pro-government demonstrations in Qom and Qazvin.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has signaled a coming clampdown, despite U.S. warnings. Tehran escalated its threats Saturday, with Iran’s attorney general, Mohammad Movahedi Azad, warning that anyone taking part in protests will be considered an “enemy of God,” a death-penalty charge. The statement carried by Iranian state television said even those who “helped rioters” would face the charge.
More demonstrations planned Sunday
Iran’s theocracy cut off the nation from the internet and international telephone calls on Thursday, though it allowed some state-owned and semiofficial media to publish. Qatar’s state-funded Al Jazeera news network reported live from Iran, but they appeared to be the only major foreign outlet able to work.
Iran’s exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, who called for protests Thursday and Friday, asked in his latest message for demonstrators to take to the streets Saturday and Sunday. He urged protesters to carry Iran’s old lion-and-sun flag and other national symbols used during the time of the shah to “claim public spaces as your own.”
Pahlavi’s support of and from Israel has drawn criticism in the past — particularly after the 12-day war. Demonstrators have shouted in support of the shah in some protests, but it isn’t clear whether that’s support for Pahlavi himself or a desire to return to a time before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
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