{"id":279520,"date":"2026-01-11T16:23:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T16:23:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/279520\/"},"modified":"2026-01-11T16:23:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T16:23:09","slug":"iran-threatens-retaliation-if-us-carries-out-attack-to-protect-protesters-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/279520\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran threatens retaliation if US carries out attack to protect protesters \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Iran<\/a> threatened retaliation on Sunday against US<\/a> military bases \u200dand its arch-foe Israel<\/a> which was on high alert in case president Donald Trump<\/a> carried out his threat of attacking Iran to protect protesters.<\/p>\n

With the Islamic Republic\u2019s clerical establishment facing the biggest demonstrations since 2022, Mr Trump has repeatedly threatened to attack if force is used \u200don protesters.<\/p>\n

Dozens have died already, according to a rights group.<\/p>\n

Iranian<\/a> parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, speaking in parliament on Sunday, warned against \u201ca miscalculation\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet us be clear: in the case of an attack on Iran, the occupied territories (Israel) as well as all US bases and ships will be our legitimate target,\u201d said Mr Qalibaf, a former commander in Iran\u2019s elite Revolutionary Guards<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Protests began on December 28th in response to soaring prices, before turning against the clerical rulers who have governed since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.<\/p>\n

Authorities \u200caccuse the US and Israel of fomenting unrest. Iran\u2019s police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan said security forces had stepped up efforts to confront \u201crioters\u201d.<\/p>\n

In a statement on Sunday, Ireland\u2019s Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee<\/a> said she was \u201cdeeply concerned by developments in Iran and reports of the repression of peaceful protesters. <\/p>\n

\u201cFreedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and access to information must be fully respected\u201d, she said as she called on the Iranian authorities to refrain from any further violence. <\/p>\n

\u201cI am in contact with our Embassy in Tehran and with our EU partners.\u201d<\/p>\n

A US-based rights group, HRANA, reported the death toll at 116, mostly protesters but also 37 members of the security forces. However, with the \u2060flow of information hampered by an internet blackout, the full picture is unclear.<\/p>\n

\"ProtestsProtests have escalated in recent days. Photograph: AP <\/p>\n

State TV aired footage of dozens of body bags on the ground at the Tehran coroner\u2019s office on \u200cSunday, \u200bsaying \u200dthe dead were victims of events caused by \u201carmed terrorists\u201d.<\/p>\n

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 US intervention.<\/p>\n

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 \u201cwith power if need be\u201d. An Israeli government spokesperson declined to comment.<\/p>\n

Israel and Iran fought a 12-day war in June last year, which the United States briefly \u2060joined by attacking key nuclear installations. Iran retaliated by firing missiles at Israel and an American airbase in Qatar.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Iran\u2019s army vows to protect public property as Tehran seeks to quell growing unrestOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

While the Iranian authorities have weathered previous protests, the latest have unfolded with Tehran still \u2060recovering from last year\u2019s war and with its regional position weakened by blows to \u2060allies such as Lebanon\u2019s Hizbullah since the October 7th, 2023 Hamas-led attacks on Israel.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s unrest comes as Mr Trump flexes US muscles on the world stage, having ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, and floating the possibility of acquiring Greenland by purchase or military force.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s president Masoud Pezeshkian, in a televised interview, said Israel and the US were masterminding destabilisation \u200dand that Iran\u2019s enemies had brought in \u201cterrorists … who set mosques on fire … attack banks, and public properties\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"ProtestsProtests have taken place across the country. Photograph: AP <\/p>\n

\u201cFamilies, I ask you: do not allow your young children to join rioters and terrorists who behead people and kill others,\u201d he said, adding that the government was ready to listen to the people and to resolve economic problems.<\/p>\n

A social media video posted on Saturday showed large crowds gathered in Tehran\u2019s Punak neighbourhood at night, drumming on the railings of a bridge or other metal objects in an apparent sign of protest.<\/p>\n

Another video showed large crowds marching along a Tehran street at night, clapping and chanting. The crowd \u201chas no end nor beginning,\u201d a man is heard saying.<\/p>\n

Reuters verified the locations.<\/p>\n

Iranian state TV broadcast funeral processions in western Iranian cities such as Gachsaran and Yasuj for security personnel killed in protests.<\/p>\n

Authorities have not given a death toll.<\/p>\n

State TV said 30 members of the security forces would be buried in the central city of Isfahan and \u200cthat six more were killed by \u201crioters\u201d in Kermanshah \u200cin the west.<\/p>\n

\"IranianIranian state television images showing cars driving past burning vehicles in Tehran. Photograph: Iranian state TV via AP <\/p>\n

Mr Trump, posting on social media on Saturday, said: \u201cIran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!\u201d<\/p>\n

[\u00a0\u2018I want to live a \u2060peaceful, normal life\u2019: Iran\u2019s younger generation is defying the regimeOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

In a phone call on Saturday, Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu<\/a> and US secretary of state Marco Rubio<\/a> discussed the possibility of US intervention in Iran, according to an Israeli source present for \u200cthe conversation.<\/p>\n

Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran\u2019s last shah and a prominent voice in the fragmented opposition, said Mr Trump had observed Iranians\u2019 \u201cindescribable bravery\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cDo not abandon the streets,\u201d Mr Pahlavi, who is based in the US, wrote on X.<\/p>\n

Israel has not signalled a \u2060desire to intervene, with frictions between the two arch-foes deep over Israeli concerns about Iran\u2019s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.<\/p>\n

In an interview with the Economist published on Friday, Mr Netanyahu said there would be horrible consequences for Iran if it were to attack Israel. Alluding to the protests, he said: \u201cEverything else, I think we should see what is happening inside Iran.\u201d \u2013 Reuters <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Iran threatened retaliation on Sunday against US military bases \u200dand its arch-foe Israel which was on high alert…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":279521,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[9,10,356,13,14,6,18929,135856,11,12,15,16,5,7,8,384,65,66,67],"class_list":{"0":"post-279520","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-breaking-news","9":"tag-breakingnews","10":"tag-donald-trump","11":"tag-featured-news","12":"tag-featurednews","13":"tag-headlines","14":"tag-iran","15":"tag-iran-protests","16":"tag-latest-news","17":"tag-latestnews","18":"tag-main-news","19":"tag-mainnews","20":"tag-news","21":"tag-top-stories","22":"tag-topstories","23":"tag-united-states","24":"tag-world","25":"tag-world-news","26":"tag-worldnews"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115877393437868069","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=279520"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279520\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/279521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=279520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=279520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=279520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}