An Iranian man shouts anti-US and anti-Israeli slogans while waving a national flag during a pro-Government rally in southern Tehran, Iran. Photo / Getty Images
Iran has threatened to attack American troops in the Middle East if Donald Trump follows through on his threat to intervene in domestic protests.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s Parliament, warned all US military personnel and bases in the region would be considered “legitimate targets” if Trump made good on his claims that the US was “locked and loaded” and ready to “rescue” protesters.
Demonstrations have taken place across a number of cities in the Islamic Republic this week over soaring prices and the country’s plunging currency.
Iran’s security forces escalated their crackdown on protesters with riot squads, opening fire on demonstrators. Seven people have died.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said: “If Iran shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue.
“We are locked and loaded and ready to go.”
In response, Ghalibaf said: “The dishonourable President of America should know that with this official confession, all American centres and forces throughout the region will be our legitimate targets in response to any possible adventurism.”
Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to supreme leader Ali Khamenei, also warned “any interventionist hand that gets too close to the security of Iran will be cut”.
“The people of Iran properly know the experience of ‘being rescued’ by Americans: from Iraq and Afghanistan to Gaza,” he said.
The war of words comes seven months after US bombers struck Iran’s nuclear facilities.
On Monday, the US President issued another threat, saying he was prepared to attack the Islamic Republic again if it rebuilt its missile programme.
“I hear that Iran is trying to build up again, and if they are, we’re going to have to knock them down,” Trump said, after a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “We’ll knock them down. We’ll knock the hell out of them.”
In Iran, annual inflation hit 42.2% in December, with food prices increasing by 72%.
Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, claimed Israel and the US were stoking the demonstrations.
He said: “We distinguish the positions of protesting shopkeepers from destructive elements, and Trump should know that America’s interference in this internal matter equals the disruption of the entire region and the destruction of America’s interests.”
Trump’s threat was criticised by Thomas Massie, a Republican congressman who regularly butts heads with the President. “We have problems at home and shouldn’t be wasting military resources on another country’s internal affairs,” he said.
“This threat isn’t about freedom of speech in Iran; it’s about the dollar, oil and Israel.”
Funerals for those killed have themselves become new flashpoints, with large crowds gathering at burial sites despite a heavy security presence.
Security forces clashed with mourners at the funerals of protesters killed in at least two cities on Friday afternoon.
In the southern city of Marvdasht, demonstrators could be heard chanting “I will kill whoever killed my brother” and “death to Khamenei”.
In central Fouladshahr, protesters attending the funeral of one of those killed threw stones at security forces.
Residents in the city of Zahedan, which was the site of some of the longest-running protests in 2022, also joined demonstrations on Friday.
Iran’s state media reported three people were killed in clashes between security forces and protesters in the city of Lordegan and three in Azna, in the western province of Lorestan.
Saeed Shahvari, head of Lorestan’s judiciary, announced the arrest of protesters in Azna and Delfan but did not specify numbers.
He ordered authorities on Friday to take “legal, judicial and decisive action against rioters and those disturbing public peace and security”.
Iranian media reported that during protests in Lordegan, demonstrators attacked police headquarters, resulting in three deaths and 17 injuries.
Fars news agency claimed “a group of rioters, taking advantage of people’s protest gathering in Azna, attacked the police headquarters with various weapons, intending to disarm officers and attack the armoury”.
The demonstrations, which began on Sunday with shopkeepers protesting against the Government’s handling of a falling currency and rising prices, have evolved into broader anti-regime rallies.
On Thursday night, protesters in more than a dozen cities chanted “this year is a year of blood, Seyyed Ali will be overthrown” and “death to the dictator”, referring to the supreme leader.
The clashes mark a significant escalation in unrest that represents the most significant challenge to Iran’s Government since the 2022 demonstrations after Mahsa Amini’s death in custody.
Unlike those protests, which centred on women’s rights and mandatory hijab laws, the current unrest stems from economic grievances but has quickly adopted familiar anti-government slogans calling for regime change.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has acknowledged there is not much he can do as Iran’s rial currency has rapidly depreciated, with US$1 now costing 1.34 million rials.
Siamak, a boutique owner in Nahavand city, described the clashes between riot squads and protesters in Nahavand city, which left multiple people injured. He told the Telegraph: “They were shooting pellets without any regard for whether they would kill or blind people. I saw two people soaked in blood.
“Instead of hospitals, people had to take them to nearby houses because police are everywhere.”
The 32-year-old, who also participated in the 2022 demonstrations, noticed a difference in how quickly crowds are forming.
“I attended the Mahsa protests too, but this year is very different. Gatherings form extremely quickly – you see 10 people chanting, and a few minutes later, there are hundreds.”
In a major development, protests erupted on Thursday in Qom, an important centre of Shia religious scholarship in Iran and usually a stronghold of support for the clerical establishment.
In response to the unrest, a member of Iran’s Parliament announced that a long-delayed “Assembly and Rally Bill” will be brought to the floor for a vote.
Mohammad Saleh Jokar said the recent events made it more urgent to review legislation that would allow governors and provincial authorities to designate specific locations where “various groups and classes can gather and express their demands”.
The bill was sent to Parliament in early 2023 and had not been acted on until now.
Critics view such measures as attempts to contain and control protests rather than address the underlying grievances driving them.
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