Tehran, Iran – Iranian authorities have warned they will forcefully act against any anti-establishment internal protests as Israel and the United States threatened to further target the paramilitary Basij forces of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have said they want to see the 47-year-old theocratic establishment in Iran overthrown. They have asked Iranians to remain vigilant in their homes and “be ready to seize the moment”.
Ahmad-Reza Radan, the chief of police, told state television in a programme aired Tuesday night that if any Iranians take to the streets “at the will of the enemy”, then “we will not see them as a protester or something else; we will see them as the enemy and do with them what we do with the enemy”.
“All of our guys are ready with their fingers on the triggers to safeguard their revolution, to back their people and country,” he said.
This comes two months after thousands were killed during nationwide protests that Iranian authorities blamed on “terrorists” backed by the US and Israel. The United Nations and international human rights organisations condemned state forces for what they called a crackdown against peaceful protesters and for a 20-day total internet shutdown.
Radan confirmed that police forces, in tandem with the paramilitary Basij, have been patrolling the streets of Tehran and cities across the country “day and night” in the aftermath of the protests and since the start of the US-Israel war on Iran 12 days ago.
Basij forces also regularly set up heavily armed checkpoints at different hours of the day, many of them on roads leading to or near headquarters and local bases of police, IRGC and other armed forces.
Footage broadcast by Iranian state media this week showed armoured vehicles and masked security forces taking part in street rallies to call for revenge for the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and warn against any anti-establishment sentiment.
Authorities have also called on supporters to congregate in mosques, with other footage showing armed Basij forces shouting slogans against the US and Israel while wielding assault rifles in a mosque.
The Israeli military has largely refrained from directly targeting mosques so far, but this week appeared to show that it may favour street-level assassinations as well, as it threatens top Iranian officials.
State-affiliated Iranian media on Tuesday showed footage from a neighbourhood in eastern Tehran where a moving vehicle was bombed on a major road during daytime. State-linked Student News Network said four civilians were killed and others injured, including people passing by, but did not elaborate.
In another first during this war, an administrative building belonging to Bank Sepah – which holds accounts of armed forces – was targeted with a missile attack in Tehran overnight into Wednesday.
A state media reporter claimed from the site of the attack that bank staff were working an extra shift after midnight to sort out salaries, even as banks have been operating at very limited capacity in daytime during the war. He said the number of casualties was “very high”, but did not elaborate.
The bank-linked attack led to the Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters of the IRGC declaring that the scope of Iranian attacks has now increased to include US and Israeli banking and economic interests across the region.
This week, the Israeli military signalled that a future stage of the conflict could entail more direct targeting of Basij forces at lower levels.
A Farsi-language representative of the Israeli army released a video message directed at the mothers of younger Basij and IRGC forces, telling them that only they can save their sons from being targeted in air strikes by convincing them to lay down their arms.
“The ayatollahs and their henchmen are on the run – but those cowards have nowhere to hide,” Israel’s Netanyahu said in a statement addressing the Iranian people. “In the coming days, we will create the conditions for you to grasp your destiny”.
In Tehran and other cities on Wednesday, the IRGC and other armed forces held funeral processions for commanders killed during the war. A number of fresh air strikes were reported in the afternoon in the capital.
Iranian authorities say most of the over 1,250 people reported killed during the war are civilians and have also denounced the impact of the intense US and Israeli bombing on homes, hospitals, schools and historical sites. The Israeli army said on Monday that it had killed more than 1,900 military personnel and commanders, but has not commented on civilian casualties.
The war is the second in less than a year for over 90 million Iranians, who are now suffering from a 12th day of near-total nationwide internet shutdown imposed by their government. An intranet functions to keep essential services running and help state media remain in control of the flow of information.
Iranian state television continues to project anger and threats towards the US and Israel, but also towards Iranians who may be perceived as being aligned with them against the establishment.
After a presenter branded members of the Iranian women’s football team as “traitors” this week for refusing to sing the national anthem in protest, several of them were granted asylum by Australia.
Speaking on Wednesday, another state television presenter issued a broader threat against Iranians inside and outside the country who are in favour of the “global arrogance and liberalism” of the US, Israel and their Western allies, as well as those supporting Reza Pahlavi, the US-based son of the former shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who also wants to overthrow the establishment.
