Confrontation between US and Iran heats up: Iran considers attacking US military bases in Europe and submarine cables

The Financial Times reported on the 19th that according to sources close to the Iranian regime, Iran is considering attacking US military targets in Europe and submarine cables in the Strait of Hormuz if US President Trump escalates the conflict.

According to the report, insiders in the Iranian government revealed that the Iranian military has evaluated attacks on U.S. military assets in southeastern European countries. For example, Bulgaria last month approved the use of Bezmer Air Base by U.S. tankers. Another insider also added that Cyprus is also a potential target of retaliation. In March, a British air force base there was attacked by a drone.

Sources said the Iranian military is also reviewing the possibility of launching an attack on undersea fiber-optic cables in the Strait of Hormuz if the conflict escalates.

The report pointed out that the relevant threats reflect Iran's confrontational mood. Within the Iranian government, more and more people believe that the war will restart sooner or later. As the negotiations to open the Strait of Hormuz reached a stalemate, Iran's supreme leader promoted a hard-liner to serve as the security and military chief last week. Trump said on the 18th that no talks or dialogue had been arranged or conducted with Iran, indicating that the hostility between the two sides has intensified.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and other military commanders have warned that if a new full-scale conflict breaks out, Iran's strategy will no longer be limited to previous attacks on US military assets, energy facilities and other infrastructure in the Middle East, but will shift its targets further afield.

Sidharth Kaushal, a researcher at the Royal United Institute of Technology (RUSI), a London-based think tank, said the threat of Iranian missiles targeting Europe and other regions was "real but limited." Iran may deploy medium-range ballistic missiles such as the Shahab to attack U.S. assets in southern and southeastern Europe, but it will be difficult to cause damage to longer-range targets.