• Analysis
Iran threatens to strike US bases in Europe if used to attack Iran
Mohsen Rezaei, Iran's security chief, said on Wednesday that Tehran would hit US bases in Europe if American aircraft used them to attack Iran, in an interview with Lebanon-based Al Mayadeen TV.
The threat
The warning over Iran US bases in Europe came from Mohsen Rezaei, Iran's security chief, who said on Wednesday that American bases in Europe would come under attack if US aircraft flew bombing missions against Iran from them. He made the threat in an interview with Lebanon-based Al Mayadeen TV, broadcast on Wednesday and conducted in Tehran. Speaking of American aircraft, he said:
"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"
Rezaei said any renewed US attacks would be answered with strikes on America's more distant military installations, including ones not yet attacked, though he named no specific sites. He added that Iran might hit islands the US assumes are beyond the reach of its missiles.
How the war began
The Middle East war broke out on February 28 with US-Israeli strikes that killed Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran answered by firing missiles and drones at countries across the region that host US military assets, and allied militant groups in Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq joined the fighting.
Talks and Washington's stance
Diplomatic efforts led by Qatar and Pakistan are underway to negotiate an end to the war. Tehran, meanwhile, is demanding that Washington unfreeze assets and lift sanctions in return for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has blockaded since the conflict began.
On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there was no need to attack Iran again, pointing to successful efforts to undermine its economy.
Washington has appeared to scale back threats of renewed strikes since Donald Trump's Republican Party lost the midterm elections earlier this month, in part because of the war's unpopularity.
Talks led by Qatar and Pakistan remain in progress, with Iran's conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz still in place.
