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Iran weighs attacks on military targets in Europe – FT

19 August 2026 11:19 (UTC +04:00)

Iran has considered attacking military targets in Europe if US President Donald Trump escalates the war, the Financial Times reports, citing two insiders.

Iranian forces had assessed possible strikes against US assets in southeastern Europe, including Bulgaria, which approved the use of Bezmer Air Base by US refueling aircraft last month, the sources said.

Cyprus, where a British air base was hit by a drone in March, was also identified as a potential target for retaliation against a renewed US offensive, according to one of the sources.

Iran’s forces had separately examined attacks on subsea fiber-optic cables in the Strait of Hormuz if the conflict intensified, according to the report.

One source said Tehran was preparing to expand the war if Trump acted on threats to attack Iranian infrastructure. The other said Iran would place “no limits” on its response to US military action.

The sources described last month’s strike on a US base in Jordan, which killed three American service members, as Tehran’s most accurate long-range attack to date and evidence of its ability to hit targets farther afield.

“This was also a message to Europe: it can receive missiles, so it should know where it should stand in this war,” the first insider said. “A very big mistake, such as hitting our infrastructure, could make the war go beyond the region and reach Europe.”

Iran has not publicly confirmed the reported plans.

Military analysts told the FT that Iran could target US assets in southern and southeastern Europe with medium-range ballistic missiles, but questioned their accuracy and Tehran’s stockpile of longer-range weapons.

Iran’s recent elevation of hardliners to senior security and military posts has also deepened expectations within Tehran of renewed conflict, according to the report.

Referring to Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Tehran’s chief negotiator, and Mohsen Rezaei, Iran’s top security chief, the second insider said Iran “is sending a clear message that if you don’t reach an agreement with Ghalibaf, you have to deal with Rezaei.”

“The message is: ‘Don’t be mad, because I’m madder than you are.’”

Meanwhile, negotiations over reopening the Strait of Hormuz remained stalled and Trump said there were no talks scheduled with Tehran.