Iran has warned that it would target US military bases in Europe and on distant islands if Washington launches another attack, with the country’s top security official cautioning nations hosting American forces against supporting any military action.
“If the Americans make a mistake and attack us, we will not limit ourselves to nearby bases,” Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, told Beirut-based Al Mayadeen, a television channel aligned with Hezbollah and Tehran, reports Iran International.
“We may even target some American military bases in European countries.”
Rezaei also warned that Iran could strike “some islands they think our missiles cannot reach” and urged countries hosting US forces not to cooperate with an attack on Iran.
“Wherever American planes take off from, we will regard it as a threat against us,” he said.
Rezaei further claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin had told him during a meeting at the Kremlin that he had informed Washington that the Islamic Republic “is not a system that can be toppled.”
A widening target list
The latest warning signals an expansion of Iran’s declared military targets. During the 12-day war in June 2025, Rezaei said, Tehran confined its attacks to Israel.
However, during the conflict that began on 28 February, Iran launched strikes against US bases across the region.
Its officials are now openly referring to potential targets in Europe.
Last month, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei reportedly instructed the armed forces to prepare for retaliation without geographical restrictions, according to a statement attributed to him.
The army’s spokesman also warned that any new conflict could extend “beyond West Asia”.
Meanwhile, the hardline newspaper Kayhan identified US and NATO facilities in Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Albania, Italy and Britain as potential targets.
It also named the joint US-British military base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.
However, Iran’s actual ability to strike these locations remains uncertain. The Center for Strategic and International Studies lists the ranges of Iran’s principal ballistic missiles at around 2,000 kilometres, while some variants may reach approximately 3,000 kilometres.
Britain’s Royal United Services Institute has said that striking targets as far away as the UK is theoretically possible, although smaller and less accurate warheads would have to travel through defended airspace.
The warning came days after the US military relocated tankers and aircraft from RAF Mildenhall in eastern England over an Iranian threat. The move followed Washington’s withdrawal of bombers from RAF Fairford weeks earlier, after a suspected Iran-linked plot.
There are no negotiations
Rezaei denied that Tehran was holding talks with Washington, contradicting reports this week suggesting progress in mediation efforts led by Qatar.
“We are not negotiating with the Americans at present, and there are no negotiations between us and the United States,” he said.
He dismissed reports of a possible meeting in Qatar or plans for talks with US Vice President JD Vance as “lies”, claiming they were intended to ease economic pressure and push down oil prices.
Asked specifically whether he would meet Vance, Rezaei replied: “Absolutely not.”
He said Iran had laid down seven conditions for ending the conflict and that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until Washington met them.
According to Rezaei, the US response to Iran’s initial demands had been “deceptive”. He said the first condition was an end to the war on all fronts, particularly in Lebanon.
Rezaei also ruled out discussing Iran’s nuclear programme, insisting that “not even a particle” of its enriched uranium would leave the country.
He said Tehran had conveyed the same position to Moscow, adding that Iran was developing nuclear-powered ships and submarines and could also build small modular reactors. The country needed its enriched uranium for these projects, he claimed.
He further alleged that Iran and the United States had signed an agreement during an earlier round of negotiations in Islamabad, but US President Donald Trump tore it up within a month. Washington has not confirmed the account.
Rezaei also claimed that Iranian forces had recently used electronic warfare to take control of US drones while they were airborne, bringing seven of them down intact. He added that Iran had captured two underwater craft capable of diving to depths of 6,000 metres.
He provided no further details, and the claims could not be independently verified.
The unseen leader
Asked about the health of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not appeared in public since succeeding his father in March, Rezaei avoided giving a direct response.
Instead, he recalled his last meeting with Khamenei, saying he had prayed behind the leader and found him better informed about the country’s affairs “even than me”.
He added that Khamenei continued to issue instructions to military commanders.
Rezaei also said he had delivered a message from Khamenei to Putin, mainly concerning continued cooperation between the two countries.
He said their discussions covered the International North-South Transport Corridor and a proposal to pipe Russian natural gas, which Moscow no longer sells to Europe, into Iran for domestic consumption and resale to neighbouring countries.
