Iran Retaliates with Missile Attack on Israel
On the 22nd (local time), Israeli rescue workers and firefighters in Tel Aviv search for the injured at the site of an attack by Iranian missiles. This attack was Iran’s reaction to a U.S. bombing of its nuclear facilities, prompting them to launch missiles at Israel. (AP Photo)
Headline: Defense Minister: “Strike Boldly”
Possibility of Iraq Militias and ‘Axis of Resistance’ Joining Retaliation Against U.S.
Iranian Foreign Minister Aragchi to Visit Russia on the 23rd for a Meeting with Putin, Condemning the U.S.
Following a sudden U.S. strike on three Iranian nuclear sites, Iran declared, “The U.S. has started a dangerous war against Iran,” vowing retaliation. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) suggested an attack on a U.S. base in the Middle East, warning “they should brace for painful consequences.”
On the 22nd (local time), Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi held a press conference in Istanbul, Turkey, stating that “the warmongering and lawless U.S. administration must fully bear responsibility for the repercussions of this aggression.” He noted that diplomatic dialogue is currently closed, emphasizing, “We must respond based on the right to self-defense, and we retain all options to safeguard our security and people.”
Middle Eastern U.S. military bases are expected to be primary targets of Iran’s counterattack. The IRGC mentioned that “the number, distribution, and size of U.S. bases in the region are vulnerabilities, not strengths,” forewarning “a painful reprisal.” Previously, Iranian Defense Minister Azim Nasirzadeh also commented that “all U.S. bases in the Middle East are within our strike range, and we will strike them boldly.”
According to the U.S. think tank, the Council on Foreign Relations, there are at least 19 permanent and temporary U.S. bases in the Middle East, housing over 40,000 troops. Among these, bases in Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain are within the range of Iranian short-range missiles.
Iran has previously attacked U.S. bases in the Middle East as a retaliatory measure. In 2020, after the assassination of IRGC Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani by the Trump administration, Iran fired 16 missiles at the Al Asad Air Base in Iraq, causing traumatic brain injuries to 110 U.S. troops.
The ‘Axis of Resistance,’ an armed group supported by Iran, might also join the retaliatory attacks. Lebanese group Hezbollah and Palestinian group Hamas, central to the ‘Axis of Resistance,’ have considerably weakened after Israeli attacks post-October 2023. The backlash is expected to be led by Yemeni Houthi rebels this time. They have threatened to break the truce with the U.S. if Iran is attacked, targeting U.S. ships and merchant vessels in the Red Sea. On the 20th, Abu Ali al-Askari of the Iraqi Shia militia Kataib Hezbollah warned that U.S. bases would become “duck hunting grounds.”
Iran might also close the Strait of Hormuz and target U.S. ships in the Persian Gulf. Iran has previously threatened to mine the Strait of Hormuz if the U.S. intervenes in Israeli attacks. The same day, Iran launched missiles targeting Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport, biological research centers, military bases, and command control centers in Israel.
Minister Aragchi announced plans to visit Russia on the 23rd to meet with President Vladimir Putin. Russia issued a statement condemning the U.S. attack on Iran as “a grave violation of international law, the UN Charter, and UN Security Council resolutions.”