Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei has threatened to target US military bases outside the Middle East, including facilities in Europe, if they are used to launch attacks against Iran.
“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 told Lebanon-based Al Mayadeen TV in an interview broadcast on Wednesday.
He also warned that any renewed US attacks would prompt Iran to target “America’s more distant military installations,” including facilities that Tehran has not previously attacked, without identifying specific locations.
“We may even strike certain islands that they assume are beyond the reach of our missiles,” he added during the interview, which was conducted in Tehran.
War and Diplomatic Efforts
The war in the Middle East began on February 28 with US-Israeli strikes that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Iran responded by launching missiles and drones at 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 been underway to negotiate an end to the war.
Tehran insists that Washington meet a series of demands, including unfreezing Iranian assets and lifting sanctions, in return for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global energy route that Iran has blockaded since the conflict began.
Iran Rules Out Sending Enriched Uranium Abroad
The United States and Israel have repeatedly cited Iran’s nuclear program as one of their justifications for the war.
However, Rezaei said the nuclear issue was “not currently” part of the negotiations, adding that Tehran had already established clear red lines, including a refusal to send “even a tiny amount” of its enriched nuclear material outside Iran.
Iran’s nuclear program, particularly its stockpile of uranium enriched to 60 percent, close to the 90 percent level generally associated with weapons-grade uranium, has been a major source of international tensions for years.
Washington Signals No Immediate Need for Further Strikes
On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there was no need to launch another attack on Iran, pointing to what he described as successful efforts to undermine the country’s economy.
Washington has appeared to scale back its recent threats of renewed military strikes following the defeat of President Donald Trump’s Republican Party in the latest midterm elections, amid the unpopularity of the war against Iran.
