U.S. weighs military options against Iran after Venezuela success, but experts warn Tehran's defenses and retaliation capabilities make it riskier.

As Iran returned to uneasy calm after a wave of protests that drew a bloody crackdown, a senior hard-line cleric called Friday for the death penalty for detained demonstrators and directly threatened US President Donald Trump — evidence of the rage gripping authorities in the Islamic Republic.

President Donald Trump said the U.S. was considering military force in response to Iran’s crackdown on protests.

Hundreds of troops have begun leaving the Al Udeid Air Base as President Donald Trump considers a range of options in response to the Iranian regime’s deadly crackdown on protesters.

The death toll over 16 days of mass anti-government protests in Iran reached 2,000 as of Monday, according to data published by the the U.S.-based HRANA.

Amid the US threat of military action, Iran has said that ‘all American military centres, bases and ships in the region will be our legitimate targets’. But does Tehran have the firepower to carry out such an attack?

At least 2,637 people have been killed in the unrest, with Iranian authorities saying they have ‘no plan’ to execute protesters