Iran warned Sunday that US troops and Israel would be “legitimate targets” of attack if the US strikes the Islamic Republic over the brutal crackdown on protesters across the nation.

Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf threatened retaliatory attacks on the US and Israel following the latest wave of violence against those protesting Tehran’s theocracy.

More than 500 people have been killed in the anti-regime uprising, according to disturbing new figures from US-based Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRANA).  

Smoke rises as protesters gather in an anti-government protest at a highway in the Razavi Khorasan province of Iran on Jan. 10, 2026. via REUTERS

“In the event of an attack on Iran, both the occupied territory (Israel) and all American military centers, bases and ships in the region will be our legitimate targets,” Qalibaf said in a live TV broadcast. 

The speaker went on to suggest that Iran could even launch preemptive strikes following threats from President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the treatment of the protesters. 

“We do not consider ourselves limited to reacting after the action and will act based on any objective signs of a threat,” Qalibaf added. 

The speaker’s words were met by cheers from his fellow Iranian lawmakers, who shouted, “Death to America!”  

It remains unclear how feasible an Iranian attack on Israel and US troops would be after its air defense systems were decimated during the 12-day war in June. 

Fire spreads across vehicles during a protest in Tehran, Iran, on Jan. 9, 2026. via REUTERS

The death toll in the protests has grown, while 2,600 others have been detained, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. via REUTERS

Iran had previously attacked America’s Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar during the war, which resulted in no US casualties. 

Tehran’s threats come after Trump reiterated his support for the protesters over the weekend, suggesting, again, that America could launch airstrikes in the Islamic Republic. 

“Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. 

The State Department echoed the warning, saying in a statement: “Do not play games with President Trump. When he says he’ll do something, he means it.”

The latest protests in Iran have been fueled by the country’s ailing economy, with Sunday’s demonstrations breaking out in Tehran and  Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city. 

Any decision to go to war would rest with Iran’s 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian Leader’s Press Office/UPI/Shutterstock

The US military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America strikes the Islamic Republic, as threatened by President Donald Trump. AFP via Getty Images

Mashhad is also home to the Imam Reza shrine, one of the holiest sites in Shiite Islam, making the protests there carry significant weight for the country’s theocracy.

“The pattern of protests in the capital has largely taken the form of scattered, short-lived, and fluid gatherings, an approach shaped in response to the heavy presence of security forces and increased field pressure,” the Human Rights Activists News Agency said. 

“Reports were received of surveillance drones flying overhead and movements by security forces around protest locations, indicating ongoing monitoring and security control.”

People inspect a shrine set on fire by protesters in Dezful, Iran on Jan. 9, 2026. ZUMAPRESS.com

The New York Post front cover for Jan. 11, 2026.

Along with the intense security, residents have reported blackouts and internet outages during the demonstrations, tactics that have been regularly used by the regime to crack down on dissent.  

Iranian Attorney General Mohammad Movahedi Azad warned that anyone taking part in the protests will be seen as an “enemy of God” and face the death penalty. 

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Some lawmakers have even gone on to accuse the protesters of killing people and mimicking ISIS terrorists, with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian claiming that the state will not “allow a group of rioters to come and destroy the entire society.”  

Of those killed so far, at least 490 were protesters, and 48 were members of the nation’s security forces, according to HRANA.

The agency also estimates that more than 10,600 others have been arrested so far since the demonstrations began on Dec, 28. 

Despite the warnings from lawmakers, the demonstrations carried on across the country after Iran’s exiled Crown Prince, Reza Pahlavi, called on residents to take to the streets on Sunday. 

With Post wires