Iran has warned the US against an attack on its soil, saying US military and Israel will be “legitimate targets” if America strikes the Islamic Republic.
Following an urgently-convened Parliament session on Sunday, Iran’s Parliament Speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, made the remark as lawmakers rushed to the dais in the Iranian parliament, shouting: “Death to America!”
Qalibaf, a hard-liner who has run for the presidency in the past, gave a speech applauding police and Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, particularly its all-volunteer Basij, for having “stood firm” during the protests.
“The people of Iran should know that we will deal with them in the most severe way and punish those who are arrested,” Qalibaf said, and went on to directly threaten Israel, “the occupied territory” as he referred to it, and the US military, possibly with a preemptive strike.
“In the event of an attack on Iran, both the occupied territory and all American military centres, bases and ships in the region will be our legitimate targets,” he said.
“We do not consider ourselves limited to reacting after the action and will act based on any objective signs of a threat.”
Threats by US President Donald Trump have been coming in thick and fast of possible strikes on Iran if it kills more protesters even as demonstrations swelled in Tehran and other parts of the country against the theocratic regime, ailing economy, and falling currency.
The comments by Qalibaf, however, mention Israel into the mix of possible targets for an Iranian strike for the first time. Previously, Iran’s attorney general, Mohammad Movahedi Azad, ambassador to the US and even Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Washington against intervening in its internal matter and accused it of conspiring to instigate protesters.
Also Read: Trump mulling strikes on Iran: Sources
With an internet clampdown in the country entering the second day and phone lines cut off, gauging the mounting death toll as a result of violence between protesters and the police is hard, but human rights watch group, Human Rights Activists News Agency, based in the US, asserts the total deaths have crossed 116, while at least 2,600 have been detained.
Trump, on Saturday, offered support to the protesters, saying on social media that “Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!”
Two leading US-based national dailies, citing anonymous US 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.”
Online videos sent out of Iran, likely using Starlink satellite transmitters, purportedly showed demonstrators gathering in northern Tehran’s Punak neighbourhood. There, it appeared authorities shut off streets, with protesters waving their lit mobile phones. Others banged metal while fireworks went off.
In Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city, some 725 kilometres northeast of Tehran, flaming debris and dumpsters could be seen in the streets. 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.
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. They also showed pro-government demonstrations in Qom and Qazvin.
The demonstrations in Iran first began December 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to USD 1. The protests then intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
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