Four US service members were killed after a KC-135 refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq, US Central Command said.
CENTCOM said the aircraft went down on March 12 with six crew members on board, and rescue efforts were continuing.
The command said the crash was not caused by hostile fire or friendly fire, and the circumstances of the incident remain under investigation.
The warning came from the intelligence organization of the Revolutionary Guards, which said street unrest would be treated as a precursor to military action. “Those we call the ‘Neo-ISIS elements’ should know that a blow even harsher than that of January 8 awaits them,” the statement said.
More than 36,500 Iranians were killed by security forces during a two-day crackdown on nationwide protests on January 8–9. Iran International confirmed the death toll after examining obtained classified documents along with field reports and accounts from medical staff, witnesses, and victims’ families.
In its statement, the Guards accused foreign adversaries of trying to stir unrest inside Iran after failing to achieve their goals on the battlefield. It said enemies were now attempting to “spread fear and provoke street protests.”
The warning came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s military campaign was intended in part to create conditions that could allow Iranians to protest against the Islamic Republic.
“We will create optimal conditions to do this, including airstrikes as we did yesterday, as we are doing these days, to try to give them the space needed to take to the streets,” Netanyahu said at a press conference on Thursday.
He said Israeli strikes were delivering “crushing blows” to the Revolutionary Guards and the Basij, the paramilitary force often deployed against protesters, but added that any effort to bring down the Islamic Republic would ultimately depend on action from within Iran.
