Iran protests: Tehran warns it will hit U.S. bases if Trump strikes
Global News
The United States said it was withdrawing some personnel from key bases in the Middle East as a precaution given heightened regional tensions.
The United States is withdrawing some personnel from bases in the Middle East, a U.S. official said on Wednesday, after a senior Iranian official said Tehran had warned neighbors it would hit American bases if Washington strikes.
With Iran’s leadership trying to put down the worst domestic unrest the Islamic Republic has ever faced, Tehran is seeking to deter U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated threats to intervene on behalf of anti-government protesters.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the United States was withdrawing some personnel from key bases in the region as a precaution given heightened regional tensions.
Two European officials said U.S. military intervention appeared likely, with one saying it could come in the next 24 hours. An Israeli official also said it appeared Trump had taken a decision to intervene, though the scope and timing had yet to be made clear.
Qatar said drawdowns from its Al Udeid air base, the biggest U.S. base in the region, were “being undertaken in response to the current regional tensions.”
Three diplomats said some personnel had been told to leave the base, though there were no immediate signs of large numbers of troops being bussed out to a soccer stadium and shopping mall as took place hours before an Iranian missile strike last year.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene in support of protesters in Iran, where thousands of people have been reported killed in a crackdown on the protests against clerical rule.
Iran and its Western foes have both described the unrest, which began two weeks ago as demonstrations against dire economic conditions and rapidly escalated in recent days, as the most violent since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that installed Iran’s system of clerical rule.
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand in a joint statement with Australia and the European Union praised the bravery of peaceful protesters and attacked Iran's use of lethal force.
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As protests in Iran near the two-week mark, Canada condemns the crackdown. Mark Carney calls reports of violence and arrests “profoundly concerning” and urges for peaceful protest.
"I would like to make a deal the easy way, but if we don't do it the easy way we're going to do it the hard way," he added, appearing to allude to potential military action.
Reza Pahlavi is trying to position himself as a player in his country’s future after living in exile for nearly 50 years, successfully escalating nationwide protests in Iran.
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The European Union's top foreign policy envoy said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s reply to diplomacy was “more missiles and destruction.”
Iran was largely cut off from the outside world on Friday after authorities blacked out the internet to curb growing unrest, as video showed buildings and vehicles ablaze in anti-government protests raging through the streets of several cities. In a televised address, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed not to back down, accusing demonstrators of acting on behalf of...
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The protest represented the first test of whether the Iranian public could be swayed by Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, whose father fled Iran just before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
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