Iran warns neighbours it could hit US bases if Washington strikes

DUBAI: Tehran has warned neighbours hosting US troops that it will hit American bases if Washington attacks Iran, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday (Jan 14), as Iran seeks to deter Donald Trump's threats to intervene in support of protesters.

Three diplomats said some personnel had been advised to leave the main US air base in the region although there were no immediate signs of a large-scale evacuation of troops, which had taken place in the hours before an Iranian missile attack last year.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene in support of protesters in Iran, where a rights group said 2,600 people have been killed in a crackdown on one of the biggest ever waves of protest against clerical rule.

According to an Israeli assessment, Trump has decided to intervene, although the scope and timing of this action remains unclear, an Israeli official said.

The three diplomats told Reuters that some personnel had been advised to leave the US military's Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar by Wednesday evening.

One of the diplomats described the move as ‍a "posture change" rather than an "ordered evacuation". 

There was no sign of a large-scale movement ⁠of ‍troops off the base to a nearby soccer stadium and shopping mall, as had taken place last year in the hours before Iran targeted the base with missiles in retaliation for US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear targets.

The US embassy in Doha had no immediate comment and Qatar's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Iranian authorities have accused the United States and Israel of fomenting the unrest, carried out ⁠by people it calls terrorists.

IRAN ASKS REGIONAL STATES TO PREVENT A US ATTACK

Trump has been openly threatening to intervene in Iran for days, though without giving specifics.

In an interview with CBS News on Tuesday, Trump vowed "very strong action" if Iran executes protesters. 

"If they hang them, you're going ‍to see some things," he said. 

He also urged Iranians on Tuesday to keep protesting and take over institutions, declaring "help is on the way".

The Iranian official, a senior figure speaking on condition of anonymity, said Tehran had asked US allies in the region to "prevent Washington from attacking Iran".

"Tehran has told regional countries, from Saudi Arabia and UAE to Turkey, that US bases in those countries will be attacked" if the US targets Iran, the official said.

The official added that direct contacts between Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff had been suspended, reflecting mounting tensions.

The United States has forces across the region including the forward headquarters of its Central Command at Al Udeid in Qatar and the headquarters of the US Navy's Fifth Fleet in Bahrain.

Iran fired missiles at Al Udeid last year in retaliation for US airstrikes on its nuclear installations.

CRACKDOWN HAS RESTORED SOME CALM: WESTERN OFFICIAL

The flow of information from inside Iran has been hampered by an internet blackout.

US-based rights group HRANA said it had so far verified the deaths of 2,403 protesters and 147 government-affiliated individuals. An Iranian official told Reuters on Tuesday that about 2,000 people had been killed.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel ‌Barrot said he suspected "this is the most violent repression in Iran's contemporary history and that it must absolutely stop".

A Western official said it did not appear the Iranian government was facing imminent collapse, and its security apparatus remained in control. The crackdown had restored some calm, though the authorities had been impacted, the official added.

Rioting had taken place at a level unprecedented in recent times, catching the ‍government off ‌guard at a time of particular vulnerability, the Western official added.

An Israeli government official said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet was briefed late on Tuesday about the chances of regime collapse or US intervention. Israel fought a 12-day war against its arch-foe last year.

Iranian state TV broadcast footage of large funeral processions for people killed in the unrest in Tehran, Isfahan and Bushehr, and other cities. People waved flags and pictures of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and held aloft signs with anti-riot slogans.

The head of Iran's top security body, Ali Larijani, had spoken to the foreign minister of Qatar and Araqchi had spoken to his Emirati and Turkish counterparts, state media reported.

Araqchi told UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed that "calm has prevailed" and Iranians were determined to defend their sovereignty and security from any foreign interference, state media reported.

IRAN'S CHIEF JUSTICE URGES SWIFT ACTIONS

Visiting a Tehran prison where arrested protesters are being held, Iran's chief justice said speed in judging and penalizing those "who beheaded or burned people" was critical to ensuring such events do not happen again.

HRANA reported 18,137 arrests so far.

State TV said that a funeral procession would take place on Wednesday in Tehran for more than 100 civilians and security personnel killed in the unrest.

Hengaw, an Iranian Kurdish rights group, has reported that a 26-year-old man, Erfan Soltani, arrested in connection with protests in the city of Karaj, was to be executed on Wednesday.

Hengaw told Reuters on Wednesday it had not been able to confirm whether Soltani's sentence had been carried out due to the internet and communications shutdown. Reuters could not independently confirm the report.

Pro-government rallies were held in Iran on Monday, a show of loyalist support for the clerical Iranian establishment. So far, there have been no signs of fracture in the security forces that have quelled other bouts of protest over the years.

While Iranian authorities have weathered previous protests, the latest unrest is taking place with Tehran still recovering from last year's war, and with its regional position weakened by blows to allies such as Lebanon's Hezbollah since the Oct 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks against Israel.

Asked what he meant by "help is on its way", Trump told reporters on Tuesday they would have to figure that out. Trump has said military action is among the options he is weighing to punish Iran over the crackdown.

"The killing looks like it's significant, but we don't know yet for certain," said Trump upon returning to the Washington area from Detroit, adding he would know more after receiving a report on Tuesday evening.

Trump on Monday announced 25 per cent import tariffs on products from any country doing business with Iran - a major oil exporter.

The US State Department on Tuesday urged American citizens to leave Iran now, including by land through Turkey or Armenia.