Confronting protests, Iran vows to strike back if US attacks

Tehran threatened retaliation on Sunday against U.S. military bases and its arch-foe Israel which was on high alert in case President Donald Trump carried out his threat of attacking Iran to protect protesters.

With the Islamic Republic´s clerical establishment facing the biggest demonstrations since 2022, Trump has repeatedly threatened to attack if force is used on protesters.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, speaking in parliament on Sunday, warned against "a miscalculation".

"Let us be clear: in the case of an attack on Iran, the occupied territories (Israel) as well as all U.S. bases and ships will be our legitimate target," said Qalibaf, a former commander in Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards.

DEATH TOLL INCREASES

Protests began on December 28 in response to soaring prices, before turning against the clerical rulers who have governed since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Authorities accuse the U.S. and Israel of fomenting unrest. Iran's police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan said security forces had stepped up efforts to confront "rioters".

A U.S.-based rights group, HRANA, reported the death toll at 116, mostly protesters but also 37 members of the security forces. However, with the flow of information hampered by an internet blackout, the full picture is unclear.

State TV aired footage of dozens of body bags on the ground at the Tehran coroner's office on Sunday, saying the dead were victims of events caused by "armed terrorists".

Three Israeli sources, who were present for Israeli security consultations over the weekend, said Israel was on a high-alert footing for the possibility of any U.S. intervention.

An Israeli military official said that the protests were an internal Iranian matter, but the Israeli military was monitoring developments, prepared defensively, and ready to respond "with power if need be". An Israeli government spokesperson declined to comment.