Iran is weighing strikes on US military targets in Europe if President Trump escalates the war close to the regime.
Two insiders told the Financial Times that Iranian forces have assessed striking US assets in south-eastern European countries, including Bulgaria, which last month approved the use of its Bezmer air base for US refuelling aircraft. One of the insiders added that Cyprus, where a British air base was struck by a drone in March, was also among potential targets for retaliation in the event of any renewed US offensive.
“Should the US go too far, Iran will defend itself at any price, go beyond the region and hit Europe too,” one of the people close to the regime said of the current plans.
Iran could target several US military outposts in southern Europe with its medium-range ballistic missiles, but analysts have said the rockets would struggle with accuracy and power at longer distances.
Along with the air bases, Iran’s military has also considered sabotaging Europe’s underwater fiber-optic cables, which have come under attack in recent years, the insiders said.
Fears of renewed fighting in the region were stoked after the US and Iran failed to extend a 60-day cease-fire agreement, which expired on Monday, with both sides refusing to restart peace negotiations.
President Trump said Tuesday that there were “no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled” with Iran and that the US naval blockade remained in force.
Iran has repeatedly threatened to extend the war beyond the Middle East, with Tehran warning the UK to keep the US military out of its air bases.
“Any base that is used to launch an attack on Iranian territory will be considered a legitimate target,” the regime said in a statement last month.
Iran has previously proved its willingness to attack distant targets during the war, with the Islamic republic firing multiple missiles extending well beyond its known reach — albeit with mixed results.
Following the initial US-Israeli bombings in late February, Tehran fired missiles at the Diego Garcia US-UK joint military base in the Indian Ocean nearly 2,500 miles away, none of which reached the target.
Iran, however, did land a hit on the UK’s air base in Akrotiri, Cyprus, located some 1,000 miles away.
In the viral moment that opened this phase of the conflict, the initial US-Israeli bombings in late February triggered Tehran’s first wave of long-range retaliation. The Islamic republic fired multiple missiles at distant targets, including the Diego Garcia base, demonstrating both its ambition to project force beyond the Middle East and the technical limitations of its arsenal. The drone strike on the British Royal Air Base in Cyprus in March showed Iran’s continued willingness to hit European-linked facilities even at extended range.
The report comes as negotiations over reopening the Strait of Hormuz remain stalled and prospects for renewed Tehran-Washington talks have dimmed. A White House official told Semafor that Trump’s Truth Social post amounted to calling off talks with Iran for the foreseeable future.
The message appeared to contradict Jared Kushner, who just a day earlier described contacts with different parts of the Iranian government as unusually “robust” and spoke of “very positive and active conversations.”
The IRGC has denied Trump’s claim that US officials were holding back-channel talks with Revolutionary Guard officials.
Iranian military officials have previously warned that any military base used to launch attacks against Iranian territory could be considered a target.
Trump is scheduled to appear at a campaign rally in Arizona later this week.