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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly discussed the possibility of US intervention in Iran.
The two leaders spoke by phone on Saturday while Israel was on “high alert” in preparation for possible US military intervention in Iran, Reuters reported, citing multiple Israeli sources.
The report comes as anti-regime demonstrations across Iran have reached two weeks.
The Iranian regime on Saturday launched an online “kill switch” in an apparent attempt to hide alleged abuses by security forces and as protests against it mount across the country, according to a cybersecurity expert. Power outages reduced Internet access to a fraction of normal levels.
Kaine warns Iranian regime not to take Trump ‘seriously’ over protest death threat amid ongoing demonstrations
Secretary of State Marco Rubio holds his year-end press conference at the State Department in Washington, D.C., on December 19, 2025. (Kevin Mohat/Reuters)
The speaker of Iran’s parliament warned on Sunday that the US military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America struck the Islamic Republic.
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf issued this threat as lawmakers rushed to the Iranian parliament podium chanting “Death to America.” According to the Associated Press.
President Donald Trump offered support to protesters on Saturday, writing on Truth Social that “Iran aspires to freedom, perhaps like never before. And the United States stands ready to help!!!”
Iranian military leader threatens pre-emptive attack after Trump’s statements
In this frame from video obtained by The Associated Press outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a photo of Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (User generated content via AP)
In a press conference on Friday, Trump said Iran was facing increasing pressure as unrest spread across the country.
He added: “Iran is in big trouble.” “It seems to me that people are taking over certain cities that no one would have thought was actually possible just a few weeks ago. We are monitoring the situation very carefully.”
The president said that the United States would respond forcefully if the regime resorted to mass violence.
He said, “We will hit them very hard where it hurts. This does not mean deploying troops on the ground, but it means hitting them very hard where it hurts.”
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Protests in Iran escalate for the twelfth day. (National Council of Resistance of Iran)
Fox News Digital has reached out to the State Department and the White House for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Emma Posey, Bree Stimson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.