Tehran (Somalia Today) — Iran’s parliament speaker warned on Sunday that Tehran would strike U.S. bases, ships and Israel if Washington attacks Iran, as the country’s biggest street unrest since 2022 widened under a communications blackout that has blurred the true scale of the violence.
Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf told lawmakers that any U.S. strike would make “the occupied territories (Israel) as well as all U.S. bases and ships” legitimate targets, warning against “a miscalculation” as demonstrations continued into a second week.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened military action if Iranian forces use force against protesters. In a Saturday social media post, he said the United States “stands ready to help.”
Israel, Iran’s long-time foe, raised its alert level over the weekend for the possibility of U.S. intervention, three Israeli sources told Reuters.
An Israeli military official said the protests were an internal Iranian matter, but added the army was prepared defensively and ready to respond “with power if need be.”
The unrest began on December 28, driven first by anger over soaring prices before shifting into open hostility toward Iran’s clerical leadership, in power since the 1979 revolution.
Iranian authorities have accused the United States and Israel of fomenting the protests, while police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan said security forces had stepped up efforts against “rioters.”
Deaths and blackout
A U.S.-based monitoring group, the Human Rights Activists News Agency, said confirmed deaths had risen to 116 by Saturday, including protesters and 37 members of the security forces, while noting that outages and restrictions were limiting independent verification.
Iran has not issued an official nationwide toll. State television aired footage it said showed dozens of body bags at Tehran’s coroner’s office, describing the dead as victims of events caused by “armed terrorists.”
Rights groups say the internet shutdown is also shaping the information battlefield. An Amnesty statement said the blackout was concealing potential abuses and urged authorities to restore access.
The CHRI alert said it had “grave and urgent concern” for protesters under fire, while acknowledging that the blackout made it harder to verify events across the country in real time.
President Masoud Pezeshkian, speaking in a televised interview cited by Reuters, accused the United States and Israel of masterminding destabilisation and claimed “terrorists” had been brought in to attack public property.
He urged families to keep children away from “rioters and terrorists,” while saying the government was ready to listen and address economic grievances.
Regional stakes
Sunday’s escalation sharpened a confrontation already intensified by last year’s Israel-Iran war.
In June 2025, Israel launched a 12-day air campaign against Iranian nuclear and military sites, and Iran retaliated with missile barrages, according to Reuters reporting from the conflict.
Iran also fired missiles at the U.S. Al Udeid air base in Qatar in June 2025 after U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, Reuters reported at the time.
The latest unrest is unfolding as Tehran tries to regroup from that conflict and as pressure mounts on Iran’s regional allies, which Iranian officials and analysts have said has narrowed Tehran’s room to manoeuvre.
On Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke by phone, a U.S. official confirmed, after Axios reported the call covered Iran alongside Gaza and Syria.
Netanyahu has kept Israel’s public posture focused on deterrence rather than intervention. In a recent Economist interview, he warned of “horrible consequences” if Iran attacks Israel, while saying he was watching events inside Iran.
Iran’s opposition abroad has tried to amplify the street movement. Reza Pahlavi, the U.S.-based son of Iran’s last shah, praised protesters’ “bravery” and urged them not to leave the streets.
On the ground, videos posted online showed crowds gathering at night in Tehran neighbourhoods, chanting and banging on railings in apparent protest.
Reuters said it verified the locations of some footage, while noting that outages and restrictions continued to limit a full picture of events across the country.
