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10:03 22.06.2025 •
Iran is surrounded by US military bases and facilities.
Iran has prepared missiles and other military equipment for strikes on U.S. bases in the Middle East should the United States join Israel’s war against the country, according to American officials who have reviewed intelligence, ‘The New York Times’ informs.
Fears of a wider war are growing among American officials as Israel presses the White House to intervene in its conflict with Iran. If the United States joins the Israeli campaign and strikes Fordo, a key Iranian nuclear facility, the Iranian-backed Houthi militia will almost certainly resume striking ships in the Red Sea, the officials said. They added that pro-Iranian militias in Iraq and Syria would probably try to attack U.S. bases there.
Other officials said that in the event of an attack, Iran could begin to mine the Strait of Hormuz, a tactic meant to pin American warships in the Persian Gulf.
Map: defendashraf.org
Two Iranian officials have acknowledged that the country would attack U.S. bases in the Middle East, starting with those in Iraq, if the United States joined Israel’s war.
Iran would also target any American bases that are in Arab countries and take part in an attack, the two officials said.
“Our enemies should know that they cannot reach a solution with military attacks on us and will not be able to force their will on the Iranian people,” Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said in a statement on Monday. Mr. Araghchi told his European counterparts in phone conversations that if the war spread, the blame would be on Israel and its main supporters, according to a summary of the calls provided by Iran’s foreign ministry.
U.S. officials said Iran would not need much preparation to attack American bases in the region. The Iranian military has missile bases within easy striking range of Bahrain, Qatar and United Arab Emirates.
The prospect of U.S. forces joining the war has increased in recent days as Israel has continued its campaign, and Iran has launched waves of missiles at Israel in response.
It is not clear how much damage a strike on Fordo would do to Iran’s nuclear capabilities or how long it would delay the development of a weapon. Iran’s current stockpile of enriched uranium is also hidden in tunnels at different locations in the country.
Several American officials said that Israel would need U.S. help to more significantly damage Iran’s nuclear program.
Any strike on Fordo by the United States or with U.S. assistance would prompt Iran and its allies to retaliate.
The United States has sent about three dozen refueling aircraft to Europe that could be used to assist fighter jets protecting American bases or that would be used to extend the range of bombers involved in any possible strike on Iranian nuclear facilities.
Commanders put American troops on high alert at military bases throughout the region, including in the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. The United States has more than 40,000 troops deployed in the Middle East.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi
Photo: TASS
Tehran will be ready to deliver retaliatory strikes on the US military in the Middle East if Washington joins Israel’s military operation, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told NBC News in an interview, TASS stresses.
"When there is a war, both sides attack each other. That's quite understandable, and self defense is a legitimate rights of every country," he said when asked whether Iran would target the US military in the Middle East in case of an attack.
In his opinion, "what it needs is only a telephone call from Washington to Tel Aviv to stop everything."
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