Iran Warns Of Retaliation If Trump Administration Strikes
WASHINGTON/DUBAI/DOHA, January 14 (Reuters) – The United States has withdrawn some personnel from bases in the Middle East, a senior Iranian official said on Wednesday, as Tehran warned its neighbors that Washington would hit American bases if it attacked.
As Iran’s leadership tries to quell the worst of civil unrest Islamic Republic Tehran is trying to deter US President Donald Trump’s repeated threats to intervene on behalf of anti-government protesters.
A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the US withdraw some staff It is one of the key bases in the region as a precaution due to increasing regional tensions.
According to i newspaper, Britain was withdrawing some of its personnel from the air base in Qatar before possible US attacks. The British defense ministry had no comment on the matter.
“All the signals are that a US attack is coming, but this administration is acting this way to keep everyone on their toes. Unpredictability is part of the strategy,” a Western military official told Reuters later on Wednesday.
Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
Two European officials said US military intervention could come within the next 24 hours. An Israeli official also said that Trump decided to intervene, but the scope and timing remained unclear.
Qatar says there are outages Al Udeid air baseThe base, the largest US base in the Middle East, is “being undertaken in response to current regional tensions”.
Three diplomats said some personnel were told to leave the base, but there was no sign that large numbers of soldiers were being taken by buses to the football stadium and shopping mall as there had been hours before the attack. Iranian missile attack last year.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene in support of protesters, whose thousands have reportedly been killed in a crackdown on protests in Iran. office rule.
Iran and its Western foes have described the unrest, which began two weeks ago as demonstrations against dire economic conditions and has escalated rapidly in recent days, as the most violent event since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that established Iran’s system of Shiite religious rule.
An Iranian official said more than 2,000 people died. A rights group estimates the death toll at more than 2,600.
Armed Forces Chief of Staff Abdolrahim Mousavi said on Wednesday that Iran “has never faced such great destruction,” blaming foreign enemies.
French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot described “the most violent repression in the contemporary history of Iran.”
Iranian officials have accused the United States and Israel of inciting unrest carried out by what they call armed terrorists.
Iran asks regional countries to prevent US attack
Trump has openly threatened to intervene in Iran for days, without providing details. In an interview with CBS News on Tuesday, he promised “very strong action” if Iran executes protesters. He also called on Iranians to continue protests and seize institutions, saying “help is on the way.”
The senior Iranian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Tehran has asked US allies in the region to prevent Washington from attacking Iran.
“Tehran has told countries in the region, from Saudi Arabia and the UAE to Türkiye, that if the US targets Iran, US bases in these countries will be attacked,” the official said.
The official added that direct contacts between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and US Special Representative Steve Witkoff were suspended.
The United States maintains forces throughout the region, including the forward headquarters of Central Command in Al Udeid in Qatar and the headquarters of the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain.
Western official says government does not appear close to collapse
The flow of information within Iran was disrupted due to an internet outage.
US-based rights group HRANA said it had confirmed the deaths of 2,403 protesters and 147 government loyalists so far, a figure that dwarfed previous waves of protests suppressed by authorities in 2022 and 2009.
The government’s prestige was shaken by a 12-day Israeli bombing campaign in which the United States participated last June, following setbacks by Iran’s regional allies in Lebanon and Syria. European powers reimposed UN sanctions on Iran’s nuclear program, further exacerbating the economic crisis there.
A Western official said unrest on this scale had caught authorities off guard, but the government did not appear to face imminent collapse and the security apparatus still appeared to be in control.
Authorities tried to project images showing that they continued to support the public. Iranian state television broadcast footage of large funerals for people who lost their lives in the riots in Tehran, Isfahan, Bushehr and other cities.
People waved flags and images of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and held up banners with anti-revolt slogans.
President Masoud Pezeshkian, an elected figure whose authority falls under Khamenei’s authority, told a cabinet meeting that as long as the government has popular support, “all the efforts of the enemies against the country will be in vain.”
State media reported that the head of Iran’s top security body, Ali Larijani, met with Qatar’s foreign minister, while Iran’s top diplomat Araqchi met with his Emirati and Turkish counterparts. Araqchi told UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed that “calm has prevailed”.
HRANA reported that 18,137 people have been arrested so far.
(Reporting by Elwely Elwelly and Jana Choukeir in Dubai, Bassam Masoud in Doha, John Irish in Paris, Lili Bayer in Brussels, Bo Erickson in Detroit, Susan Heavey, Joey Roulette and Doina Chiacu in Washington, Michelle Nichols at the United Nations, Bhargav Acharya in Toronto; writing by Tom Perry, Peter Graff and Mark Heinrich; editing by Frances Kerry, Alexandra Hudson and Gareth Jones)
