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

Iran has considered attacking US military targets in Europe if President Donald Trump escalates the war, according to people close to the regime, as Tehran weighs options for raising the stakes in the conflict.

Two regime insiders told the Financial Times (FT) that Iranian forces have assessed potential strikes against US assets in south-eastern European countries, including Bulgaria, which last month approved the use of its Bezmer air base by US refuelling aircraft.

One of the insiders said Cyprus, where a British air base was targeted by a drone in March, was also being considered as a potential target for retaliation should the US launch a renewed offensive.

Iranian forces have separately examined the possibility of attacking subsea fibre-optic cables in the Strait of Hormuz if the conflict escalates, the insiders said.

The threats reflect the defiant mood in Tehran, where many within the regime increasingly view a resumption of the war as a question of when, rather than if, according to the FT.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and other military commanders have warned that in any new full-scale conflict, Iran would expand its previous strategy of targeting US military assets, energy facilities and other infrastructure in the Middle East to include targets farther afield.

Last month, the Guards threatened the UK over the use of British military bases by the US, warning that “any base that is used to launch an attack on Iranian territory will be considered a legitimate target”.

By Jeyhun Aghazada