Tehran has warned neighbours hosting US troops that it would hit American bases if Washington strikes, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday, as Iran seeks to deter Donald Trump’s threats to intervene on behalf of protesters. Three diplomats said some personnel had been advised to leave the main US air base in the region, although there were no immediate signs of a large-scale evacuation of troops as took place in the hours before an Iranian missile attack last year.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene in support of protesters in Iran, where a rights group said 2,600 people have been killed in a crackdown on one of the biggest ever waves of protest against clerical rule. According to an Israeli assessment, Trump has decided to intervene, although the scope and timing of this action remains unclear, an Israeli official said.