Iran vows to strike back if US attacks as regime change protests continue

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said that the United States and Israel want to create chaos and disorder in Iran by ordering riots, urging Iranians to distance themselves from “rioters and terrorists.” Addressing the nation on Sunday (Jan 11), Pezeshkain assured Iranians that the government will heed their demands and concerns and warned that rioters should not be allowed to disrupt society.

“The people should not allow rioters to disrupt society. The people should believe that we want to establish justice,” he told state broadcaster IRIB.

Meanwhile, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, speaking in parliament on Sunday, warned the United States against “a miscalculation”.

“Let us be clear: in the case of an attack on Iran, the occupied territories [Israel] as well as all US bases and ships will be our legitimate target,” said Qalibaf, a former commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

President Pezeskian accused the United States and Israel of instructing the “rioters” from abroad, adding that the same ones who attacked the country directly are now ordering these protesters to riot and sow discord in society. “America and Israel are sitting there, teaching them: ‘Go ahead, we are here too,’ he said.

He further alleged that terrorists brought into the country from abroad are setting fire to mosques and beheading some people, and added that these acts of vandalism and killing innocent people can’t be accepted.

The Iranian president appealed to youth not to be deceived by these “rioters and terrorists” and emphasised that the government will hear their genuine concerns and provide solutions.

“People have concerns; we should sit with them, and if it is our duty, we should resolve their concerns,” Pezeshkian said. “But the higher duty is not to allow a group of rioters to come and destroy the entire society,” Pezeshkian said in an interview with Iranian state television.

Speaking for the first time since the beginning of the protests after the Iranian regime’s crackdown reportedly killed over 100 people, Pezeshkian also presented an economic plan to provide some respite to Iranians as the sanctions hit country continues to reel under financial distress.

The protests, which began as small demonstrations in markets of Iran’s capital city, Tehran, against the rising concerns over the cost of living and raging economic crisis, now entered their fourteenth consecutive day despite a massive security crackdown and complete internet blackout.

Protesters have demanded the end of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei-led regime. Anti-regime chants filled the streets of Tehran, while Iran’s exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, the son of Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Shah, has hinted that he would return and urged protesters to continue the demonstrations.

- Agencies