Iran considered attacks on military targets in Europe after Donald Trump threatened to hit Iranian infrastructure, the Financial Times reported Wednesday. The reported planning centered on US assets in southeastern Europe and widened the war’s possible reach beyond the Middle East and Europe Iran.
Two insiders said Tehran was preparing to expand the war if Trump acted on those threats. One of the sources said last month’s strike on a US base in Jordan, which killed three American service members, was meant as a message to Europe.
Bulgaria approved the use of Bezmer Air Base by US refueling aircraft last month, and Cyprus was named as a possible retaliation target if the US renewed offensive action. Iranian forces also examined attacks on subsea fiber-optic cables in the Strait of Hormuz if the conflict intensified, showing that Tehran’s planning extended from air assets to critical infrastructure.
Donald Trump and Tehran signals
The first insider said, “This was also a message to Europe: it can receive missiles, so it should know where it should stand in this war” and added, “A very big mistake, such as hitting our infrastructure, could make the war go beyond the region and reach Europe.” Military analysts said Iran could target US assets in southern and southeastern Europe with medium-range ballistic missiles, while also questioning the accuracy of those missiles and Tehran’s stockpile of longer-range weapons.
Donald Trump said Tuesday that there were no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled with Iran, even as Jared Kushner described contacts with different parts of the Iranian government as unusually robust and spoke of very positive and active conversations just a day earlier. The IRGC denied Trump’s claim that US officials were holding back-channel talks with Revolutionary Guard officials.
Ghalibaf and Rezaei
The second insider said Iran was “sending a clear message that if you don’t reach an agreement with Ghalibaf, you have to deal with Rezaei.” The same source added, “The message is: ‘Don’t be mad, because I’m madder than you are.’”
The reported threat comes as negotiations over reopening the Strait of Hormuz remained stalled and the 60-day period set by the June US-Iran memorandum was over. A final agreement was not in place, leaving Washington facing a choice between intensifying pressure, renewing major strikes or settling into a prolonged and unstable holding pattern.
