Qatar says it is in touch with Iran and US to prevent escalation

“If they go forward again and start building up nuclear facilities, yeah, I think Trump’s going to bomb the hell out of them,” Republican Senator Rick Scott said.

The United States joined a surprise US military campaign on Iran with a June 22 attack on three key nuclear facilities which Trump said "obliterated" the program.

Trump has repeatedly vowed to attack nuclear sites again should uranium enrichment resume and in recent days warned Tehran that Washington was "locked and loaded" and ready to intervene if Iran killed protestors as unrest grips the country.

“We should be considering what action may be appropriate if Iran progresses with its missile building and nuclear programs, which are obviously a pressing and dire threat to us and Israel,” Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal was quoted as saying.

Trump’s ultimatum on Iranian protests and the shock US capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro over the weekend has ramped up suspense over the president's next steps, but close ally Republican Senator John Kennedy dismissed any direct connection.

“I don’t think one’s related to the other,” Kennedy said. “I also think that if Iran starts back in terms of developing a nuclear weapon or substantially tries to increase the number of missiles that they have, I think the president should hit them, and I believe he will.”

Republican Senator Pete Ricketts also said the US military remains ready, echoing Trump’s warnings about Iran’s nuclear and missile programs.

“President Trump is demonstrating that we have the most outstanding military in the world. And if he believes that we need to strike Iran again, I believe he’ll do it,” Ricketts said.

Trump launched the attack on Iran after two months of fruitless talks and has offered to return to dialogue. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has rejected the overture, branding as unacceptable US demands that Iran end domestic enrichment and rein in its missile program and support for armed allies in the region.

Democratic Senator Tim Kaine asserted that the US president should not launch military strikes against any country, including Iran, without consent from US Congress.

“This president should not willy-nilly use the press, use the military as his palace guard to go here, there and everywhere,” Kaine said. “Not Nigeria, not Iran, not Venezuela, not international waters, not Cuba, not Mexico, not Panama, not Greenland. It should be a debate with Congress.”

The United States held five rounds of negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program earlier this year, for which Trump set a 60‑day deadline.

When no agreement was reached by the 61st day on June 13, Israel launched a surprise military offensive, followed by US strikes on June 22 targeting key nuclear facilities in Isfahan, Natanz and Fordow.

Protests broke out on the streets of Yazdanshahr, in Isfahan province in central Iran, on Tuesday, with gunfire heard, according to videos sent to Iran International.

The footage shows security forces bringing military-style vehicles into the streets as protesters gathered.

Security forces were attacking and beating people, according to an eyewitness account.

In another video from the city, women are heard chanting: “Free those detained in Yazdanshahr.”

Security forces closed the entrance to Sina Hospital in the Hasanabad area of Tehran on Tuesday, with sounds of gunfire heard nearby, according to a video received by Iran International.

The footage showed protesters running in surrounding streets and chanting slogans, including “Death to the dictator,” according to the video.

Amnesty International condemned Iranian security forces over an attack on a hospital in the western city of Ilam, calling it a violation of international law.

The rights group said security forces targeted Imam Khomeini Hospital, where injured protesters were seeking treatment or shelter, adding that the actions showed “how far the Iranian authorities are willing to go to crush dissent.”

Amnesty said forces fired tear gas, used shotguns, beat people inside the hospital and arrested injured protesters and some family members, urging authorities to “immediately stop the unlawful use of force” and respect medical facilities.

Tensions in Ilam peaked this week after clashes between security forces and demonstrators in Malekshahi, a town near the Iraqi border, where forces fired live rounds to disperse protesters, killing several people and injuring dozens.

The situation escalated late on Sunday when security forces entered Imam Khomeini Hospital, where wounded demonstrators had been taken for treatment, according to rights groups.

Amnesty International said on Tuesday, “The Iranian security forces’ attack on a hospital in Ilam, where injured protesters are seeking medical care or shelter, violates international law.”

The rights group said information it gathered showed that on January 4, Revolutionary Guards and police special forces surrounded the hospital, used shotguns and fired tear gas into the grounds, smashed glass doors to gain access, and beat those inside, including medical workers.

Amnesty cited informed sources as saying that security forces had entered the hospital on multiple occasions, arresting injured protesters receiving treatment and their family members.

Rights groups also said security personnel attempted to seize the bodies of protesters killed in the unrest to prevent public mourning ceremonies.

President Masoud Pezeshkian ordered the interior minister on Monday to assemble a team of relevant officials to examine the incidents in Ilam, the causes behind the unrest and how authorities responded, and to submit a comprehensive report to the president’s office as soon as possible, according to a government statement.