Iran weighs targeting US military sites in Europe if Trump escalates conflict

The Financial Times has reported, citing individuals close to the Iranian regime, that Tehran is considering targeting US military sites in Europe if US President Donald Trump escalates the conflict, as it explores options to increase the cost of war.

According to the newspaper, Iranian sources said that Iranian forces have studied the possibility of striking US facilities in southeastern European countries, such as Bulgaria, which last month agreed to allow US refueling aircraft to use Bezmer Air Base.

One source noted that Cyprus, where a British air base was attacked by a drone last March, is also among the potential targets for an Iranian response should US attacks resume.

The sources added that Iranian forces have separately considered the possibility of targeting undersea fiber optic cables in the Strait of Hormuz if tensions escalate.

Negotiations to reopen the strait have stalled, while last week Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei strengthened the influence of hardliners by appointing them to senior security and military positions.

US President Trump said yesterday that "there are no ongoing or scheduled talks or contacts" with Tehran, noting that the naval blockade on Iranian ports remains in effect.

The Financial Times added that Iran has shown its willingness to target distant sites. In the weeks following the US and Israeli launch of hostilities in February, Washington accused Tehran of firing several missiles toward Diego Garcia, a joint US-British military base in the Indian Ocean about 4,000 kilometers away, though none of the missiles reached their target.

In March, Turkey reported that NATO air defenses intercepted several ballistic missiles launched from Iran, and the British Akrotiri Air Base in Cyprus was also attacked by a drone that month. Western officials at the time suspected the drone was Iranian, but said it was launched by groups allied with Tehran in the region, rather than directly by Iran.

The sources added that last month’s Iranian attack on a US base in Jordan, which killed three American soldiers, was the most precise long-range strike carried out by Tehran and demonstrated its ability to hit targets at greater distances.