Following anti-government demonstrations supported by the US and Israel, Iran's military chief issued a warning on Wednesday that Iran will not stand by and allow itself to be intimidated by foreign powers. According to the Fars news agency, General Amir Hatami stated, "The Islamic Republic of Iran considers the escalation of hostile rhetoric against the Iranian nation a threat and will not tolerate its continuation without responding."
Hatami, the Iranian army commander but not the country's top leader, issued a warning that "if the enemy makes a mistake," Iran would respond more forcefully than it did during the 12-day conflict with Israel in June of last year.
Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has voiced support for the rallies, while US President Donald Trump has threatened to act against Iran if protesters are killed. Tehran's merchants protested the decline of the rial and skyrocketing prices on December 28. This move set off a series of similar, sometimes fatal, protests in other cities.
The protests have not yet attained the magnitude of a movement in 2022 or 2023, much less the widespread street demonstrations that followed contentious elections in 2009. However, the leaders of the Islamic Republic's foreign adversaries have taken notice of the economic demonstrations.
We're keeping a close eye on it. "I think the United States is going to strike them if they start killing people as they have in the past," Trump told reporters on Sunday. "We stand in solidarity with the struggle of the Iranian people and with their aspirations for freedom, liberty, and justice," Netanyahu said to Israel's cabinet.
The Iranian foreign ministry charged Trump and Netanyahu on Monday with encouraging violence and attempting to weaken Iran's unity. An unprecedented Israeli attack on Iranian military and nuclear installations marked the start of the conflict in June.
For a limited period, the United States participated in the attacks, targeting three significant Iranian nuclear facilities.
