Iran has warned its neighbors that it will strike US military bases on their territory if Washington attacks it, a senior Iranian official told Reuters today, BTA reports,
Iran is trying to dissuade US President Donald Trump, who has threatened to intervene in support of the protesters.
Trump has already threatened several times to intervene in support of the protesters in Iran. According to a human rights group, 2,600 people have been killed in the crackdown on the current wave of protests - one of the largest against the Islamic Republic.
Three diplomats told Reuters that some employees had been advised to leave the US air base "Al Udeid" in Qatar by tonight. One of them described the move as a "change in the situation" rather than an "evacuation order." There was no sign of a large-scale movement of troops from the base, which is located near a soccer stadium and a shopping mall, similar to last year when Iran launched missile strikes on the base in response to U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. There was no immediate comment from the U.S. Embassy in Doha, and Qatar's Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the reports. Iranian authorities have accused the U.S. and Israel of fomenting the unrest, which Iran says is being carried out by terrorists. The U.S. has forces throughout the region, including a remote headquarters for the Central Command in Al Udeid, Qatar, the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, as well as bases in Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Turkey. Reuters.