Iran has entered an emergency posture in preparation for U.S. and Israeli military operations, the Financial Times (FT) reported on the 27th local time.
According to the report, President Masoud Pezeshkian invoked emergency orders to maintain supplies of essentials and preserve government functions in the event of war. In a meeting with governors, he said, "Powers will be delegated so that governors can contact the judiciary and other agency authorities and make decisions on their own."
President Pezeshkian said the measure is intended to prevent policy implementation from being delayed by unnecessary administrative procedures and to expedite the import of essential goods. The aim is to decentralize central government authority to 31 provinces so that national operations continue even in wartime.
FT analyzed that the emergency step is a response to the growing likelihood that the United States and Israel will use military force over the Iranian regime's suppression of anti-government protests. It also offered the interpretation that the intent is to disperse governing power to the local level in case senior officials are assassinated.
In fact, the Iranian system suffered a major shock during the 12-day war with Israel in June last year, when dozens of top military figures were killed. After experiencing the war at that time, President Pezeshkian said he would transfer central authority to localities to maintain government functions.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump is not ruling out the use of military force against Iran. Some suggest the Trump administration may even target Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the pinnacle of power in Iran.
Trump said he dispatched a fleet in case force is needed, and the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group actually arrived in the Middle East on the 26th. Earlier this month, as anti-government protests spread in Iran, he drew a "red line," saying he would intervene if the regime killed protesters.
Iranian authorities confirmed that, as of the 21st, 3,117 people had died in connection with the protests. Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), based in the United States, estimated that as of the 23rd, the confirmed death toll was over 5,000, and that an additional roughly 17,000 may also have died.
Trump considered military intervention but is said to have put the decision on hold for now, taking into account opposition from neighboring countries concerned about possible Iranian retaliation.
Iran warned that if the United States and Israel use military force against it, it will retaliate against Israel and U.S. bases in the Middle East. It also reiterated that if Khamenei is targeted, it will enter a full-scale war and even consider closing the Strait of Hormuz.
The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow passage in southern Iran connecting the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, is a key route through which 20% to 30% of the world's seaborne crude oil shipments pass. Mohammad Akbarzadeh, an official in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy political institutional sector, said, "We do not want to put the global economy at risk," but added, "If the United States and its supporter countries start a war against Iran, they will not benefit."