People attend the funeral of the security forces who were killed in the protests that erupted over the collapse of the currency's value in Tehran, Iran, on Wednesday.
WASHINGTON/DUBAI/DOHA--The United States is withdrawing some personnel from bases in the Middle East, a U.S. official said on Wednesday, after a senior Iranian official said Tehran had warned neighbours it would hit American bases if Washington strikes.
With Iran's leadership trying to quell the worst domestic unrest the Islamic Republic has ever faced, Tehran is seeking to deter U.S. President Donald Trump's repeated threats to intervene on behalf of anti-government protesters.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the United States was pulling some personnel from key bases in the region as a precaution given heightened regional tensions. "All the signals are that a U.S. attack is imminent, but that is also how this administration behaves to keep everyone on their toes. Unpredictability is part of the strategy," a Western military official told Reuters later on Wednesday.
At the White House, however, Trump suggested he was adopting a wait-and-see posture toward the crisis.Trump told reporters that he has been told that killings in the Iranian regime's crackdown on the protests were subsiding and that he believes there is currently no plan for large-scale executions.Asked who told him that the killings had stopped, Trump described them as "very important sources on the other side."
The president did not rule out potential U.S. military action, saying "we are going to watch what the process is" before noting that his administration had received a "very good statement" from Iran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Wednesday "there is no plan" by Iran to hang people, when asked about the anti-government protests."There is no plan for hanging at all," the foreign minister told Fox News in an interview on the "Special Report with Bret Baier" show. "Hanging is out of the question," he said.
According to the Norway-based Iran Human Rights Society, hangings are common in Iranian prisons.
Two European officials said U.S. military intervention could come in the next 24 hours. An Israeli official also said it appeared Trump had decided to intervene, though the scope and timing remained unclear.
Qatar said drawdowns from its Al Udeid air base, the biggest U.S. base in the Middle East, were "being undertaken in response to the current regional tensions."
Britain was also withdrawing some personnel from an air base in Qatar ahead of possible U.S. strikes, The I Paper newspaper reported. The British defence ministry had no immediate comment.
