Iran Threatens to Strike US Military Bases in Europe

Iran has threatened to attack United States military bases outside the Middle East, including those in Europe, if they are used to launch strikes against the Islamic Republic.

Iranian security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, issued the warning during an interview with Lebanon-based Al Mayadeen television, broadcast on Wednesday.

He said Tehran would target any American military installation used to launch aircraft for attacks against Iran, regardless of its location.

“If American aircraft take off from an American military base, even one located in a European country or some other distant region, to bomb Iran, we will strike those bases as well,” Rezaei said.

He added that Iran’s response could extend to distant American military installations and islands that Washington considers beyond the range of Iranian missiles.

The warning comes amid an ongoing conflict that began on February 28, when US and Israeli forces launched strikes against Iran, killing its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran retaliated with missile and drone attacks on several countries across the region, while armed groups backed by Tehran in Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq also became involved in the conflict.

Diplomatic efforts led by Qatar and Pakistan have since been underway to negotiate an end to the fighting.

Meanwhile, Washington appears to have reduced its threats of renewed military action following the Republican Party’s losses in recent midterm elections, amid public dissatisfaction with the war.

On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there was no need for another attack on Iran, citing what he described as successful efforts to weaken the country’s economy.

Tehran has maintained that Washington must meet several conditions before the conflict can end. These include unfreezing Iranian assets and lifting economic sanctions in exchange for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a major global energy shipping route that Iran has blockaded since the war began.

Past threats to expand the conflict

Iranian officials have previously warned that the conflict could spread beyond the Middle East if the US launches further attacks.

In late September, an adviser to Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, suggested that the war could expand to the Indian Ocean and other regions.

The Indian Ocean hosts the strategic US-British military base at Diego Garcia, located about 4,000 kilometres from Iran.

In March, Iran fired two missiles towards the installation. One fell short, while the other was intercepted, according to the British Government.

Also in September, a suspected plot linked to Tehran against Britain’s RAF Fairford airbase was disrupted after a local farmer reported suspicious activity.

The base has previously been used by the US military for operations involving Iran.

On Tuesday, the US Department of Justice announced charges against three men it described as Iranian operatives over their alleged involvement in the plot. One of the suspects was already in custody.

The Iranian security chief also addressed Tehran’s nuclear programme, which the US and Israel have repeatedly cited as part of their justification for the war.

Rezaei said the nuclear issue was not currently part of the negotiations.

He maintained that Iran had established clear conditions, including its refusal to transfer any quantity of enriched nuclear material outside the country.

Iran’s nuclear programme and its stockpile of uranium enriched to 60 per cent, close to the 90 per cent level generally required for weapons-grade uranium, have remained major sources of tension between Tehran and Western countries.