Μake us preferred on Google

Iran has examined the possibility of taking the war beyond the Middle East by targeting U.S. military assets in Europe if President Donald Trump orders a renewed escalation, according to people close to the regime cited by the Financial Times.

The discussions come as diplomatic efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and revive negotiations with Washington have stalled, while influential figures in Tehran increasingly view another round of fighting as inevitable.

FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 15, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

Two people close to the Iranian regime told the FT that Iranian forces have assessed potential strikes against U.S. facilities in southeastern Europe, including in Bulgaria. The country approved the use of its Bezmer air base for U.S. refueling aircraft last month.

Cyprus has also been considered, one of the people said. A British military base on the island was hit by a drone in March.

Iranian forces have separately examined the possibility of targeting subsea fiber-optic cables in the Strait of Hormuz if the conflict widens, according to the people.

A U.S. sailor directs aircraft on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln during the ongoing conflict with Iran July 31, 2026. U.S. Navy/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY.

Tehran warns of a broader response

Iranian military commanders and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have warned that a future full-scale conflict would not necessarily be confined to the region.

The Guards last month warned Britain that any military base used to launch an attack on Iranian territory would be regarded as a legitimate target.

A picture taken by Yalda Moaiery, who received a 15 year prison sentence for her work as a journalist in Iran, shows rescue workers standing at the site of a strike carried out during the 40-day U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March-April 2026. At the centre of Moaiery’s case are images she took during the U.S.-Israeli airstrikes in Iran. Yalda Moaiery/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES ISRAEL OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN ISRAEL. NO ACCESS FOR ISRAELI MEDIA. NO USE BBC PERSIAN. NO USE VOA PERSIAN. NO USE MANOTO. NO USE IRAN INTERNATIONAL. NO USE RADIO FARDA. DIGITAL: NO USE BBC PERSIAN. NO USE VOA PERSIAN. NO USE MANOTO. NO USE IRAN INTERNATIONAL. NO USE RADIO FARDA.

One person familiar with the regime’s thinking said Tehran was preparing to broaden the conflict if Trump carried out previous threats to strike Iranian infrastructure. Trump said last month that the United States would destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant whenever Iran attacked a ship in the strait.

The same person said Iran would put “no limits” on its response to U.S. aggression.

“Should the US go too far, Iran will defend itself at any price, go beyond the region and hit Europe too,” the person said.

Trump said Tuesday that there were “no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled” with Tehran.

FILE PHOTO: An F/A-18E Super Hornet, assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 151, launches from the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln during the ongoing conflict with Iran July 31, 2026. U.S. Navy/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY./File Photo

The deterioration follows the collapse last month of a June memorandum of understanding between the two countries. Tehran attacked vessels in the strait, while Iran and the United States accused each other of violating the interim agreement. The breakdown was followed by tit-for-tat strikes and a renewed U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.

Iran has already attempted long-range strikes

Iran’s consideration of targets outside the Middle East comes after several incidents that demonstrated the reach of its weapons and those of forces aligned with it.

In the weeks after the United States and Israel launched the war in February, Washington accused Iran of firing several missiles toward Diego Garcia, a joint U.S.-UK military base in the Indian Ocean roughly 4,000 kilometers away. The missiles did not reach the base, and Iran denied carrying out the attack.

Turkey said in March that NATO air defenses had intercepted several ballistic missiles launched from Iran. That same month, a drone struck the UK’s Akrotiri air base in Cyprus. Western officials suspected at the time that the drone was Iranian but had been launched by regional proxy forces rather than directly by Tehran.

FILE PHOTO: A truck exits RAF Akrotiri, a British sovereign base in Cyprus, March 24, 2026. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou/File Photo

The two people close to the regime also pointed to an Iranian attack last month on a U.S. base in Jordan, in which three American service members were killed. They described it as Iran’s most precise long-range attack and said it demonstrated the country’s ability to hit targets at greater distances.

“This was also a message to Europe: it can receive missiles, so it should know where it should stand in this war,” one of the people said.

“A very big mistake, such as hitting our infrastructure, could make the war go beyond the region and reach Europe.”

European targets would present challenges

Sidharth Kaushal, a research fellow at London’s Royal United Services Institute, said Iran’s ability to threaten targets in Europe was “real, but limited.”

Iran could use medium-range ballistic missiles such as its Shahab series against U.S. assets in southern and southeastern Europe, he said. But their effectiveness would decline at greater distances.

Iran could use heavier missiles for longer-range attacks, Kaushal said, although carrying a lighter warhead would be necessary to extend their range, limiting the damage they could cause.

He argued that Iran could achieve more through groups aligned with it, including Shi’ite militias in Iraq, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.

FILE PHOTO: Houthi activists stand on a platform against a banner depicting Houthi missiles, at an anti-Saudi rally amid an escalation with the kingdom, in Sanaa, Yemen, July 31, 2026. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah/File Photo/File Photo

Douglas Barrie of the International Institute for Strategic Studies said the attempted strikes on Diego Garcia showed that Iran possesses missiles capable of traveling more than 2,000 kilometers.

But the number of such weapons available to Tehran and whether it would actually use them remain unclear, he said. Long-range missile attacks also carry the risk of interception or failure, while accuracy becomes more difficult as range increases.

Hardliners gain influence in Tehran

The prospect of renewed conflict has also coincided with a shift toward hardliners within Iran’s leadership.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei last week appointed Mohsen Rezaei, a former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander, as the country’s top security official.

Iranian analysts viewed the appointment as a sign that Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the country’s top negotiator, and other figures favoring diplomacy had been sidelined as the chances of a lasting agreement deteriorated.

A picture taken by Yalda Moaiery, who received a 15 year prison sentence for her work as a journalist in Iran, shows rescuers working at the site of a strike carried out during the 40-day U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March-April 2026. At the centre of Moaiery’s case are images she took during the U.S.-Israeli airstrikes in Iran. Yalda Moaiery/Handout via REUTERS 
 ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES ISRAEL OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN ISRAEL. NO ACCESS FOR ISRAELI MEDIA. NO USE BBC PERSIAN. NO USE VOA PERSIAN. NO USE MANOTO. NO USE IRAN INTERNATIONAL. NO USE RADIO FARDA. DIGITAL: NO USE BBC PERSIAN. NO USE VOA PERSIAN. NO USE MANOTO. NO USE IRAN INTERNATIONAL. NO USE RADIO FARDA.

Some hardliners believe Washington cannot be trusted to honor a future agreement and that Iran must impose greater costs on the United States to ensure it keeps its commitments.

“Iran is sending a clear message that if you don’t reach an agreement with Ghalibaf, you have to deal with Rezaei,” the second person said as reported in FT.

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