The U.S. military has begun evacuating some personnel and equipment from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar as a precautionary move while President Donald Trump considers ordering military action against Iran amid escalating unrest inside the Islamic Republic.
Trump on Tuesday told Iranians protesting their government that "help is on its way," signaling possible intervention, and urged Americans in Iran to consider leaving the country.
"Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price. I have canceled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY. MIGA!!!" Trump wrote.
Al Udeid was targeted by Iranian missiles last summer following U.S. strikes on Tehran’s nuclear facilities, though most of the incoming fire was intercepted. The president has leaned toward ordering strikes in recent days, according to the Wall Street Journal, after Iran warned it could retaliate against U.S. bases, shipping lanes, or Israel if Washington attacks.
Iran’s renewed threats come as regime protests enter their third week. Iran’s crackdown on the demonstrations has been historically violent, with estimates ranging from at least 12,000 to as many as 20,000 deaths, according to CBS News, amid an ongoing internet blackout. Trump repeatedly warned of U.S. intervention if Iran were to kill protesters.
At a regime-organized counter protest on Monday, Iranian officials doubted that Trump’s threats of a strike were legitimate. Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said that Trump "talks too much and should not be taken seriously." Another official called Trump a "delusional gambler."
Former White House National Security Council official Richard Goldberg, who worked on Iran policy, told the Washington Free Beacon that the heightened rhetoric coming from Iran suggests the regime is weak. "Khamenei is fighting for the survival of the Islamic Republic at this point. It’s not so much calling Trump’s bluff—it’s a maniacal captain willing to go down with the ship and taking thousands of Iranian civilians with him."
"The old tricks aren’t working, the propaganda, disinformation and phony offers of diplomacy don’t work on Trump—and now Iran has no air defense and no nuclear program to threaten," Goldberg said. "This is Trump’s moment to change the world."
