Iran Warns It Could Hit U.S. Bases as Trump Weighs Military Options
Speaker of Iran’s parliament says country would also target Middle Eastern shipping lanes and Israel
Iran will attack American military bases in the Middle East if the U.S. hits first, the country’s parliamentary speaker said Sunday after U.S. officials said the Trump administration was looking at preliminary options for striking Iranian military sites.
Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf also threatened that Iran would hit Middle Eastern shipping lanes and Israel. The U.S. maintains air and naval bases in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar. Iran struck Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar last June after the U.S. dropped massive bombs on Iranian nuclear facilities.
President Trump has threatened repeatedly to intervene in the event of a bloody crackdown on Iranian protesters. That has prompted U.S. officials to examine possible strikes on Iranian military sites, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday. No action is imminent, the officials said.
Protests that have turned into a call to topple the Islamic Republic became increasingly deadly as they continued over the weekend despite an internet blackout. The death toll has risen to 116, according to the rights group Human Rights Activists in Iran.
Ghalibaf also raised the possibility of a pre-emptive attack, following other senior officials who have mentioned this in recent days.
As parliamentary speaker, Ghalibaf is Iran’s third most senior official after the supreme leader, who has the final say on domestic and foreign policy, and the country’s president. He is also a former commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and retains the backing of the paramilitary force.