WW3 fears soar as Iran warns US troops are 'legitimate targets' after Trump's threat

Donald Trump's comments have sparked fury in Iran (Image: Getty)

World War 3 fears have exploded after a senior Iranian official sent a chilling warning in response to a bombshell threat from Donald Trump.

A senior Iranian official on Friday condemned President Trump’s threat that the U.S. would come to the aid of protesters in the country facing violence, warning that the Islamic Republic could retaliate against American bases and troops in the region, According to US political website, The Hill.

Speaker of Iran’s parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, was responding to Trump’s warning on Truth Social that his administration is “locked and loaded and ready to go” to come to rescue “peaceful protesters” if Iran shoots and “violently kills” them, The Hill also reported.

The AP said at least seven people have been killed in violence surrounding demonstrations that have taken place for nearly a week.

The Hill also wrote that in 2019, Trump imposed sanctions on Iranian officials in response to the regime’s violence against protesters, part of a “maximum pressure campaign” of sanctions to squeeze the country’s ability to fund its nuclear programs.

A new escalation started after the U.S. bombing Iranian nuclear sites in June alongside Israeli strikes on the country.

Iran retaliated at the time by launching an attack on Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar which hosts American troops. No one was injured but the attack caused some damage.

At the time, President Trump claimed that the U.S. strikes “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear capabilities, but he suggested on Monday that Iran was rebuilding and warned that the U.S. “can’t let them build up because if they build up, there can’t be peace in the Middle East,” The Hill also reported.

The same source went on saying Ali Larijani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, accused Trump and Israel of exploiting the protests to launch new attacks on Iran in a statement on X.

‘With statements from Israeli officials and [Trump], what was happening behind the scenes has become clear,” he wrote. “We distinguish between the position of the protesting merchants and the actions of the sabotage elements, and Trump must realize that U.S. intervention in this internal matter will lead to destabilizing the entire region and destroying American interests.”