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.
Tehran has warned neighbor’s hosting US troops that it
would hit American bases if Washington strikes, a senior Iranian official
told Reuters on Wednesday, as Iran seeks to deter Donald
Trump's threats to intervene on behalf 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 as took 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 took 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.
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.
Western Official: Crackdown Has Restored Some Calm
The flow of information from inside Iran has been hampered
by an internet blackout.
US-based HRANA rights group 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.
Hengaw, an Iranian Kurdish rights group, has reported 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 the sentence had been carried
out. Reuters could not independently confirm the report.
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 October 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.
"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% 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.
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