Saudi Arabia has alerted U.S. officials about intelligence suggesting that Iran is poised to carry out attacks within the kingdom, according to Saudi and U.S. officials.
In response to the threat, the United States, Saudi Arabia, and other neighboring nations have raised the alert level of their military forces, officials from Riyadh and Washington told
The Wall Street Journal, without providing details. Tehran is said to be planning the attacks on Saudi Arabia and Iraq, where some U.S. troops are based, in a bid to draw attention away from protests in Iran that have attracted widespread global attention.
“I can say that we do remain concerned about the threat situation in the region,” Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat
Ryder said during a press briefing on Nov. 1. “We’re in regular contact with our Saudi partners in terms of what information they may have to provide on that front.
“But what we’ve said before, and I'll repeat it, is that we will reserve the right to protect and defend ourselves no matter where our forces are serving, whether in Iraq or elsewhere.”
He declined to talk about “specific force protection levels.”
There have been widespread public protests in Iran since a young woman died on Sept. 16 while in police custody. She was arrested for not following the country’s strict dress code for women.
Since then, more than 1,000 people have been arrested and more than 200 killed as protesters called for protecting women’s rights and demanded that the Islamic government be brought down.
Iran Protests
Authorities in Tehran have accused the United States and Saudi Arabia of instigating the protests. Last month, Hossein Salami, the commander-in-chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, blamed Saudi Arabia for trying to “trick” Iranian youth through media outlets.“I am warning the Saudi regime: Be careful of your behavior and control these outlets or the smoke will blow in your face,” he said, according to
Al-Monitor. “We give you the final word because you are interfering in our internal affairs with these media. We told you, be careful.”
Meanwhile, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani has criticized U.S. President Joe Biden for supporting the protests in the country.
The protests in Iran have triggered solidarity rallies in the United States and Europe. In an
interview last month, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan stated that Washington has adopted a “range of aggressive actions” in support of the protesters.
The European Union imposed sanctions on Iranian agencies and officials deemed to have violated human rights. In response, Iran imposed a slew of sanctions on EU officials, NGOs, and media agencies, which were dismissed by the European Union as “politically motivated.”
