‘If the US takes military action…’: Iran issues fresh warning to US amid massive protests

As protests continue across Iran, the country's Parliamentary speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf warned that Tehran would regard US military and commercial bases as "legitimate targets" for retaliation if Washington intervenes militarily, ANI reported.

"If the US takes military action towards Iran or the occupied territories, the US military and shipping centres will be considered legitimate targets," the news portal quoted Qalibaf as saying. "We do not limit ourselves to only reacting after an action has been taken," he added.

Qalibaf's warning came after the US President Donald Trump reaffirmed his threat to attack Iran if the authorities used force to suppress the escalating nationwide protests against the Islamic Republic's theocratic government.

The protests started on December 28 in response to the collapse of the Iranian Rial, which was trading at more than 1.4 million to $1. The economic issues, partly due to international sanctions related to Iran's nuclear program, fueled the protests. Over time, these protests intensified and developed into direct challenges to Iran’s theocratic government, AP reported.

Donald Trump's warning

On Friday, Trump stated that the situation in Iran is under close watch. He warned that if protesters are killed, the US would intervene and take action against Iran.

The US President shared his remarks in response to media questions during a meeting with top oil and gas executives at the White House.

"Iran's in big trouble. It looks to me that the people are taking over certain cities that nobody thought were really possible. We're watching the situation very carefully. I made the statement very strongly that if they start killing people as they have in the past, we will get involved. We will be hitting them very hard where it hurts, and that doesn't mean boots on the ground, but it means hitting them very hard where it hurts, so we don't want that to happen," the news portal quoted Trump.

Speaking about the protestors, Trump said, “I just hope the protestors in Iran are going to be safe because it is a very dangerous place right now, and again I tell the Iranian leaders you better not start shooting because we'll start shooting too.”

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's allegations

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei alleged that the US administration is responsible for the large-scale protests in Iran.

Speaking at a public event on January 9, Khamenei said the protesters were acting to please the President of America.

“There are also those whose work is destruction. Last night in Tehran, and in some other places, a bunch of vandals came and destroyed a building belonging to their own country. For example, suppose they destroyed a certain building or a wall, just to please the President of America,” the report quoted Khamenei statement's to Iranian state media.

"Because he said... some irrelevant nonsense... that "if the government of Iran does such and such, I will come to the side... I will take your side. The side of these rioters and individuals who are harmful to the country. These people have their hopes pinned on him. If he can, let him manage his own country! In his own country, various incidents are occurring," he added.

Calling Trump arrogant, Khamenei claimed despots are deposed at the peak of their pride.

"Our nation does not tolerate mercenaryism for foreigners. Whoever you may be, once you become a mercenary for a foreigner, once you work for a foreigner, the nation considers you rejected. As for that fellow (Trump) who sits there with arrogance and pride, passing judgment on the whole world, he should also know that usually, the despots and arrogant powers of the world--such as Pharaoh, Nimrod, Reza Khan, Mohammad Reza, and the likes of them--were overthrown exactly when they were at the peak of their pride. This one will be overthrown as well," Khamenei was quoted as saying

Protests have spread throughout Iran since late December, with growing demands to end the clerical system in place since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

In a speech broadcast on Press TV, Khamenei said that Trump's hands "are stained with the blood of more than a thousand Iranians," indicating Israel's attacks on Iran in June, which the US supported, and conducted its own as well, the report noted.

"Everyone knows the Islamic Republic came to power with the blood of hundreds of thousands of honourable people; it will not back down in the face of saboteurs," he was quoted as saying.

A warning for protesters

On Saturday, Iran's attorney general Mohammad Movahedi Azad warned that anyone participating in the protests would be labelled an enemy of God, ' a charge punishable by death, the report said, citing state television.

The government has attempted to manage the situation by strengthening security measures and providing a monthly subsidy of around $7 for low-income people struggling to afford daily essentials.