Senior Iranian officials warned on Sunday that the Iranian government would retaliate against US military bases in the Middle East and Israel if Washington attacked first.
The warning came from Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf after US officials reported that the Trump administration was reviewing preliminary scenarios for strikes against Iranian military facilities.
Ghalibaf stated that Iran would respond not only with strikes against US bases in the region, but also with attacks on key Middle East shipping lanes and Israel. The United States maintains major air and naval facilities in countries such as the UAE, Bahrain, and Qatar, making them potential flashpoints for escalation.
Iran has previously demonstrated a willingness to strike US targets in the region, including the attack on Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar last June following US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
Ghalibaf also mentioned the possibility of a preemptive Iranian strike, echoing statements made by other senior officials in recent days. As speaker of parliament, he is among Iran's most influential figures, second only to the Supreme Leader and the president.
A former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, he maintains close ties with the paramilitary force, lending additional weight to his warnings amid ongoing tensions between Tehran and Washington.
Ghalibaf's comments followed a Wall Street Journal report that the US is considering military options in response to President Donald Trump's repeated threats to intervene if Iran carries out a violent crackdown on protesters.
According to officials cited by the WSJ, the discussions are preliminary and part of standard contingency planning; no decision has been made, and no immediate action is expected. These discussions included potential targets within Iran.
One option being considered involves a large-scale air campaign against several Iranian military installations, according to one US official. Another official emphasized that there is no consensus within the administration on a course of action, and no military assets or personnel have been moved in preparation for the strike.
Trump escalated his rhetoric over the weekend, writing on social media that Iran is "looking to freedom, perhaps like never before," and adding that the United States is "ready to help."
Demonstrations, which are increasingly shaping up to be a broader challenge to the Islamic Republic, have become more deadly over the weekend. The advocacy group Activists for Human Rights in Iran reported that at least 116 people have been killed so far, and that number could rise as information becomes available, despite communications restrictions.