Senior Iranian official threatens: missiles to Europe, harm to Arab leaders

Ahmad Bakhshayesh Ardestani, a member of the Iranian parliament's National Security Committee, threatened that Iran would launch missiles at Europe if the US uses bases in Italy and Germany, and that it would target Arab leaders if the Iranian leadership is attacked.

Ahmad Bakhshayesh Ardestani, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the Iranian parliament, threatened that Iran would launch missiles at European countries if the United States uses their bases to attack the Islamic Republic. In an interview with Euronews in Persian, published yesterday (Tuesday), he clarified that Germany and Italy could also become targets. The threat was not limited to Europe: Ardestani warned that if Iran's leader or other senior officials are targeted by airstrikes, Tehran might strike the palaces and leaders of Arab states. Referring to Israel, he threatened to expand the circle of attacks to civilian infrastructure, stating: "We will strike Israel with greater force than before." Ardestani assessed that the chance of renewed war is higher than the chance of avoiding it, but argued that even if the US renews airstrikes, it would not be enough to topple the regime without ground action. Later in the interview, he raised claims that the Trump administration seeks to transfer power to former Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, and that Iran's leader is hiding to thwart an attempt to replace him—claims for which no evidence was presented. The article notes that it is unclear whether the threats reflect an operational decision by the Iranian leadership.