Iran’s parliament speaker has warned that American military bases throughout the region will be viewed as legitimate targets should Washington take aggressive measures. The Friday declaration came after President Trump threatened intervention if Iranian authorities use deadly force against protesters demanding economic reforms.
Nationwide protests have claimed seven lives since erupting Sunday over Iran’s economic catastrophe. The demonstrations began in Tehran with shopkeepers voicing criticism of government policies but have expanded as citizens express mounting fury over currency collapse and rampant inflation.
Trump’s intervention threat has drawn fierce backlash from Tehran’s leadership. A senior adviser to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warned that any US involvement in Iran’s domestic crisis would spread chaos beyond the country’s borders, raising concerns about potential conflict affecting the broader Middle East.
The economic conditions fueling the unrest are dire and worsening. The rial has weakened to approximately 1.4 million per US dollar, while official statistics show inflation reached 42.5 percent in December. Combined with anemic economic growth, these factors have devastated citizens’ purchasing power and created widespread economic distress.
President Pezeshkian’s civilian government has sought to project empathy for demonstrators’ concerns. Speaking on state television, Pezeshkian used religious language to emphasize the moral importance of addressing livelihood issues. Despite this sympathetic rhetoric, he has acknowledged having few options to reverse the currency crisis. The prosecutor general has attempted to distinguish legitimate economic protests from security threats, validating the former while promising decisive action against the latter.