Iran warns US troops and Israel will be targets if America strikes over protests as death toll rises : NPR

This screenshot of images circulating on Iranian social media shows protesters taking to the streets of Tehran again despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, January 10, 2026.

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Nationwide protests against Iran’s theocracy saw demonstrators take to the streets of the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Sunday, passing the two-week milestone and violence surrounding the protests killed at least 116 people, activists said.

With Iran’s internet disrupted and phone lines cut, it has become more difficult to assess the protests from abroad. But the death toll during the protests rose, while another 2,600 people were arrested, according to the US news agency Human Rights Activists News Agency.

Meanwhile, Iran’s parliament speaker warned that the US military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America strikes the Islamic Republic, as President Donald Trump has threatened. Qalibaf made the threat as lawmakers rushed to the stage of Iran’s parliament shouting, “Death to America!”

Those abroad fear the information blackout will embolden hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown, despite Trump’s warnings that he is prepared to strike the Islamic Republic to protect peaceful protesters.

Trump offered his support to the protesters, declaring on social media that “Iran is looking towards FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The United States stands ready to help!!!” The New York Times and Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed U.S. officials, said late Saturday that Trump had been given military options for a strike on Iran but had not made a final decision.

The State Department separately warned: “Don’t play games with President Trump. When he says he will do something, he means it.”

Parliamentary gatherings

Iranian state television broadcast the parliamentary session live. Qalibaf, a hard-liner who has run for president in the past, gave a speech applauding Iran’s police and Revolutionary Guard paramilitaries, particularly its all-volunteer Basij, for “standing their ground” during the protests.

“The Iranian people must know that we will treat them in the harshest manner and punish those who are arrested,” Qalibaf said.

He then directly threatened Israel, “the occupied territory” as he calls it, and the US military, possibly with a pre-emptive strike.

“In the event of an attack on Iran, both the occupied territory and all US military centers, bases and ships in the region will be our legitimate targets,” Qalibaf said. “We are not limited to reacting after the action and will act based on any objective sign of a threat.”

It remains unclear how seriously Iran is considering launching a strike, particularly after seeing its air defenses destroyed during the 12-day war against Israel in June. Any decision to go to war would fall to Iran’s supreme leader, 86-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The U.S. military said that in the Middle East it “is equipped with forces that span the full range of combat capabilities to defend our forces, our partners and allies, and U.S. interests.”

Demonstrations in Tehran and Mashhad

Online videos sent from Iran, likely using Starlink satellite transmitters, reportedly show protesters gathering in the Punak neighborhood north of Tehran. There, authorities appear to have closed the streets, with demonstrators brandishing their cellphones on. Others banged metal as fireworks went off.

Other footage reportedly showed protesters peacefully marching down a street and others honking their horns in the street.

In Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city, about 725 kilometers (450 miles) northeast of Tehran, footage purportedly showed protesters clashing with security forces. Debris and burning dumpsters were visible in the street, blocking the road. Mashhad is home to the Imam Reza Shrine, the holiest shrine in Shiite Islam, giving the protests taking place there a heavy significance for the country’s theocracy.

Protests also appear to have taken place in Kerman, 800 kilometers southeast of Tehran.

On Sunday morning, Iranian state television spoke to the protesters, bringing their correspondents into the streets of several cities to show quiet areas with a date stamp displayed on the screen. Tehran and Mashhad were not included. They also organized pro-government protests in Qom and Qazvin.

Khamenei announced an upcoming crackdown, despite American warnings. Tehran stepped up its threats on Saturday, with Iran’s Attorney General Mohammad Movahedi Azad warning that anyone taking part in protests would be considered an “enemy of God”, punishable by death. The statement broadcast by Iranian state television said even those who “helped the rioters” would be prosecuted.

Other demonstrations are planned for Sunday

Iran’s theocracy cut off internet and international phone calls to the nation on Thursday, while allowing some state and semi-official media outlets to publish. Qatar’s state-funded Al Jazeera news channel has been broadcasting live from Iran, but it appears to be the only major foreign media outlet able to work.

Exiled Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, who called for protests on Thursday and Friday, in his latest message asked demonstrators to take to the streets on Saturday and Sunday. He urged protesters to carry the old Iranian lion and sun flag and other national symbols used during the shah’s era to “claim public spaces as your own.”

Pahlavi’s support for Israel has drawn criticism in the past, particularly after the 12 Day War. Protesters have shouted in support of the Shah during some demonstrations, but it is unclear whether this is in support of Pahlavi himself or a desire to return to a time before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The protests began on December 28 following the collapse of the Iranian rial, which trades at more than 1.4 million to the dollar, as the country’s economy is strained by international sanctions imposed in part because of its nuclear program. The protests intensified and turned into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.