Iran threatens to strike US bases in the Middle East

The Speaker of Iran’s Parliament, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, has threatened to turn all US bases and armed forces in the Middle East into a legal target for Tehran, in response to any possible US aggression or adventure.

“The disrespectful US president should know that as a result of this official recognition, all US bases and armed forces throughout the Middle East will become a legal target for us in response to any possible adventurism by the US side,” Ghalibaf wrote on X.

The threat came in response to remarks by US President Donald Trump last Friday, in which he said that the United States would help protesters in Iran if Iran is going to kill peaceful protesters.

The speaker of Iran’s parliament pointed to the failure of what he described as foreign intelligence services in their attempt to turn legal protests into armed confrontations, stressing that the Islamic Republic doesn’t equate the ranks of the demonstrators with foreign agents.

Protests erupted in Iran at the end of December over the sharp depreciation of the local currency (Rial) and its impact on prices.

The volatility led to the resignation of the governor of the central bank.

Iran is experiencing a period of high inflation and the continued collapse of the rial.

After the United States withdrew from the nuclear deal in May 2018, the value of the rial fell sharply from about 50,000 rials to the dollar to about 1.4 million Rials to the dollar in the current free market.

In addition, the Israeli security services are preparing for the scenario of a sudden outbreak of war, including with Iran, as they continue to follow developments in it in the shadow of the protests, while Tel Aviv is considering launching a ground operation in Lebanon with the aim of eliminating the Hezbollah threat.

During sessions held in the last two days, the Israeli security services warned of several scenarios, during which the Chief of Staff of the Army, Eyal Zamir, instructed to be ready for the outbreak of a sudden war on any of the fronts, including Iran, and Tel Aviv has raised its level of alert and is following up on the developments in Iran in light of the ongoing protests for several days, which resulted in deaths and injuries.

Security officials warned against making statements by ministers, and asked not to talk about Iran; one of them said, “The situation is tense enough, so any statement made by an Israeli minister or politician on the Iranian issue is very damaging… At this stage, you should refrain from speaking and keep calm… We’ve no interest in unnecessary statements dragging Israel into getting involved in Iranian affairs”.

Israel’s Channel 12 reported that no official statements have been issued by Israel regarding the protests in Iran, pointing out that the fall of the regime in Tehran is in the interest of many countries in the region.

Israeli assessments indicate that the Iranian regime doesn’t face an existential threat at this stage, but these are developments that are difficult to predict in advance, as the entire Middle East and the Gulf states are following what is happening, while wondering how the regime will deal with the state of chaos and protests.

If Iran tries to create dispersion through a regional attack or escalation, the security services are ready to respond, as are the Gulf states, which see Iran as a source of terrorism and regional chaos, according to the Israeli Channel 12.

Israel is considering a ground operation in Lebanese territory aimed at eliminating the Hezbollah threat, while it is currently carrying out air strikes on an almost daily basis, according to two Israeli officials familiar with the matter.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump discussed the expansion of attacks in Lebanon during their meeting in Florida on Monday.

According to the Israeli media, Hezbollah has been able to rehabilitate its capabilities to some extent under the ceasefire, while Israel believes that the Lebanese government is helpless in its face.

Israeli sources said the Trump administration doesn’t rule out the possibility of an Israeli ground operation against Hezbollah, but noted that it has asked Netanyahu to delay making the decision to allow for more dialogue with the Lebanese government.