Iran warns neighbors against hosting U.S. strikes as regional tensions peak

Iran has warned Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkiye that any military cooperation with the United States or use of their airspace for strikes against Tehran would lead to retaliatory attacks on U.S. bases within their territories, a senior Iranian official said on Wednesday.

The warning comes as President Donald Trump signaled potential military intervention in response to a 17-day wave of anti-government protests in Iran, which rights groups say have resulted in thousands of casualties.

"Help is on its way," Trump wrote on social media platform Truth Social earlier on Wednesday, addressing Iranian protesters after reports emerged of a planned mass execution of detainees in Tehran.

 Signs of heightened military readiness were observed across the region. Non-essential personnel at the Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest U.S. military facility in the Middle East, were advised to leave the installation by Wednesday evening, according to sources familiar with the matter.

In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s official aircraft, "Wing of Zion," departed Tel Aviv for an undisclosed location, a move often associated with high-level security coordination or shifts in the national command structure during regional crises.

The U.S. State Department issued an emergency travel advisory urging all American citizens to depart Iran immediately, citing an "imminent risk of military escalation and civil unrest."

Tehran has maintained a near-total internet blackout for over 48 hours, making it difficult to verify the scale of ongoing clashes between security forces and protesters in major cities including Isfahan and Mashhad.