Iran may order its proxies to retaliate against American targets worldwide should US President Donald Trump order “large-scale attacks” against the regime, the New York Times reported on Sunday evening, citing US and Western officials.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the officials told NYT that, while they haven’t learned of any specific plots, “heightened ‘chatter'” in intercepted terrorist communications “indicates some level of attack planning and coordination.”
“Iran can work through proxies to conduct terrorist attacks that will raise costs for any US military campaign,” Executive Director of the Soufan Center in New York, Colin P. Clarke, shared with NYT, explaining that should Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the IRGC feel threatened by the US’s attack, it may lead to them “order[ing] terror attacks abroad, including in Europe.”
Such attacks could reportedly include the Houthis resuming their attacks on Western shipping boats in the Red Sea, or Hezbollah, al-Qaeda, and other “affiliates” attacking US bases or embassies in Europe.
According to the NYT , the Pentagon has in recent days rushed to order the preparation of additional Patriot batteries and other missile defenses to protect its troops stationed across the Middle East.
Even so, terror attacks against civilians and so-called “softer” targets would be more difficult to defend against.
NYT quoted a senior Western official saying that there is also the fear of possible “hybrid attacks” against US and European targets, though these threats are under constant review, per the report.
Mar-a-Lago could be targeted if US attacks Iran, says Iranian MP
On Saturday, an Iranian member of parliament warned that Iran could expand any wartime response beyond the Middle East and said that even Trump’s “own palace” could be targeted, according to remarks published by Iranian outlet Didban Iran and later translated by Iran International.
The lawmaker was identified as Amir Hayat Moghaddam, a member of Iran’s parliament and its national security and foreign policy commission. Iran International quoted him as saying Iran would deliver a “crushing response” if attacked by the United States.
According to the report, Moghaddam said Iran could sink a US warship in the Sea of Oman, strike US bases in the region, and target American forces, including “soldier, officer, or general.”
US gathers military arsenal in Middle East
The NYT report comes ahead of the third round of negotiations between the US and Iran, set to take place in Geneva on Thursday, and amid the US amassing its military forces in the Middle East.
Flight-tracking data shows that tanker planes, fighter jets, and other US military aircraft have been repositioned in recent days, including advanced F-35s, which can evade radar detection.
The current US arsenal in the area includes two destroyers in the Mediterranean Sea, one in the Red Sea, four in the Persian Gulf, and an aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, accompanied by four destroyers in the Arabian Sea.
A second carrier strike group, the USS Gerald R. Ford, arrived in the Mediterranean Sea on Friday, accompanied by its warships.
The US also possesses established military infrastructure scattered across multiple countries, including bases containing fighter jets, drones, and helicopters in Jordan, Syria, Iraq, and the UAE.
Tzvi Jasper contributed to this report.