Iran protests newest updates: Trump briefed on ‘strike options’ as Iranian navy tightens grip on protesters | EUROtoday

Iran has warned the US that it will retaliate militarily if Washington launches an assault.

Speaking on Sunday, parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf stated Tehran would deal with Israeli territory and American bases as “legitimate targets” within the occasion of US navy motion, framing the warning as a direct message to Donald Trump.

The warning comes as Israel is reportedly on excessive alert, with regional safety officers intently monitoring the potential of US intervention.

US president Donald Trump has repeatedly warned Iran’s management in opposition to utilizing pressure on protesters and stated the US “stands ready to help”, elevating concern within the area about doable escalation.

Iranian officers have accused international powers of searching for to take advantage of the unrest and have more and more framed the protests as a part of a broader exterior menace.

Israel is reportedly on alert over developments in Iran, as senior US and Israeli officers held talks amid mounting unrest and renewed warnings from Washington about doable intervention.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke by telephone on Saturday with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, based on US and Israeli officers. While the US facet didn’t disclose what was mentioned, an Israeli supply stated the scenario in Iran and the potential of US involvement had been raised.

Israeli officers are intently monitoring occasions as Iran faces its largest anti-government demonstrations in years, with Donald Trump repeatedly warning Tehran in opposition to utilizing pressure and saying the United States “stands ready to help”.

This follows Israel’s 12-day direct conflict with Iran from final 12 months, throughout which each nation’s forces exchanged strikes and US plane bombed Iranian nuclear services.

US president Donald Trump stated the US “stands ready to help” Iranian protesters, as demonstrations proceed throughout the nation.

“Iran is looking at freedom, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help,” he wrote on Truth Social on Saturday.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed that message in a separate put up on X, previously Twitter, saying Washington “supports the brave people of Iran”.

The US State Department additionally issued a pointed warning to Tehran, saying Iranian leaders ought to “not play games with President Trump”.

Inside Iran, authorities appeared to maneuver cautiously as Saturday marked the beginning of the working week. State tv stated many colleges and universities shifted to on-line lessons, whereas officers continued to undertaking a picture of stability as protests continued elsewhere within the nation.

Just after 8pm Thursday, Iran’s theocracy pulled the plug and disconnected the Islamic Republic’s 85 million folks from the remainder of the world.

Following a playbook used each in demonstrations and in conflict, Iran severed the web connections and phone traces that join its folks to the huge diaspora within the United States, Europe and elsewhere. Until now, even whereas dealing with strict sanctions over the nation’s nuclear program, Iranians nonetheless might entry cell phone apps and even web sites blocked by the theocracy, utilizing digital personal networks to avoid restrictions.

As the nation successfully goes darkish, family members overseas are frantic for any scrap of stories, particularly as Iran’s lawyer normal warned on Saturday that anybody participating in protests will probably be thought of an “enemy of God,” a death-penalty cost.

Iranian state tv has portrayed a return to calm, telling viewers that there have been no vital gatherings in a single day in Tehran or different elements of the nation and attributing earlier unrest to what it described as violent assaults by armed teams.

A state TV anchor reportedly stated: “Field reports indicate that peace prevailed in most cities of the country at night.” They added that there was “no news of any gathering or chaos in Tehran and most provinces last night”.

However, the account has been challenged by video independently verified by the Associated Press, which confirmed what seemed to be massive crowds on the streets of Tehran’s Saadat Abad neighbourhood throughout the identical interval.

At the identical time, the semi-official Fars News Agency, which is extensively thought to be near the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, launched safety digital camera footage it stated confirmed protesters in Isfahan setting fires and attacking a authorities compound.

US officers have been weighing doable navy responses in opposition to Iran, as President Donald Trump considers whether or not to behave on warnings he has issued over Tehran’s dealing with of mass protests, based on The New York Times.

The newspaper reported that Trump has been offered with a number of contingency choices in latest days and is actively reviewing them, although no determination has been taken. Officials aware of the discussions stated the situations into consideration vary in scope and stay inner planning workout routines quite than an operational order.

On Saturday, Iran’s armed forces signalled a more durable posture, saying that it will “firmly safeguard national interests, strategic infrastructure, and public property”.

US officers cited by the Wall Street Journal additionally stated that conversations in Washington have touched on what a response may appear to be if ordered, whereas emphasising that no property have been deployed and there’s no indication of imminent motion.

The White House has pointed as a substitute to Trump’s latest public statements, together with social media posts expressing assist for protesters.

“Iran is looking at freedom, perhaps like never before,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday. “The USA stands ready to help!!!”

Iran’s lawyer normal Mohammad Movahedi Azad has warned that these participating in anti-government protests will probably be thought of an “enemy of God” a cost that carries the dying penalty.

The menace was reported by state tv and comes as protests method their 14th day. Iran stays largely minimize off from the surface world following the shutdown of web and worldwide telephone providers.

The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) stated no less than 116 folks have been killed and greater than 2,600 detained since demonstrations started. Rights teams say the communications blackout has made it more and more troublesome to evaluate the size of the unrest or the state response.

These figures haven’t been confirmed by Iranian authorities.

On Saturday, demonstrations in solidarity with the protesters occurred internationally, together with in London the place a protester climbed onto the balcony of the Iranian embassy.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper stated these talking out in opposition to the Iranian authorities shouldn’t face “the threat of violence or reprisals”.

She stated: “It takes real courage to speak up in an authoritarian system, especially for young women, but it should not require courage just to make your voice heard.

“These are fundamental rights: free speech; peaceful assembly; and the exercise of those rights should never come with the threat of violence or reprisals.

“That is why the UK, France and Germany made the statement we did, and we urge the Iranian authorities to listen.”