Iran weighs strikes on US military targets in Europe if Trump escalates war: FT

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - DUBAI — Iran has considered striking military targets in Europe if US President Donald Trump escalates the war, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.

Citing two people close to the Iranian government, the British daily said Iranian forces had assessed possible strikes against US assets in southeastern Europe, including Bulgaria, which approved the use of Bezmer Air Base by US refueling aircraft last month, the sources said.

Cyprus, where a British air base was hit by a drone in March, was also identified as a potential target for retaliation in the event of a renewed US offensive, according to one of the sources.

Iran’s forces had separately examined attacks on subsea fiber-optic cables in the Strait of Hormuz if the conflict intensified, according to the report.

One source told the Financial Times that Tehran was preparing options to expand the conflict beyond the Middle East if Trump followed through on previous threats to attack Iranian infrastructure.

“Should the US go too far, Iran will defend itself at any price, go beyond the region and hit Europe too,” the source said.

NATO is prepared to address any threat and will always do what is necessary to defend all allies, a NATO official said in response to questions about the Financial Times report.

“As demonstrated earlier this year when NATO air defenses successfully intercepted ballistic missiles heading to Turkey from Iran on four separate occasions, our deterrence and defence posture is strong and effective,” the official said.

The report comes as negotiations over reopening the Strait of Hormuz remain stalled and prospects for renewed Tehran-Washington talks have dimmed.

Trump said on Tuesday that there were “no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled” with Tehran.

Iranian military officials have previously warned that any military base used to launch attacks against Iranian territory could be considered a target.

The report also cited military experts as saying that Iran has missiles capable of reaching parts of southern and southeastern Europe, although their effectiveness and accuracy could decline at longer ranges.

Meanwhile, an Iranian lawmaker said Tehran would respond in kind if the US used a nuclear weapon against Iran.

Commenting on a media report on Wednesday about the possibility of such an attack, Fada Hossein Maleki, a member of the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, made the remarks in an interview with Iranian news outlet Khabar Online.

Asked how likely he considered a US nuclear attack on Iran, Maleki said: “I do not rule out an ill-considered action by Trump, but I do not think he would dare to do such a thing, because such an action could plunge the world into a dangerous war.”

He added: “If such an action is taken, the Islamic Republic of Iran will also respond, and its reaction will be proportionate to the type of weapon used against Iran.”

Pressed on whether this meant Iran would use a nuclear weapon if the US attacked Iran with one, Maleki replied: “Whatever the US uses, Iran will respond to it.” Maleki did not explicitly say that Iran possesses nuclear weapons.

Iran and the US signed a memorandum of understanding in June aimed at ending the war and paving the way for a broader agreement, but the arrangement later broke down amid mutual accusations of violations and renewed hostilities.

Diplomatic efforts have since failed to produce a breakthrough on reopening the Strait of Hormuz or resuming negotiations on a broader agreement.