Cyprus, Bulgaria among Iran’s potential targets in Europe, FT reports

World British BasesiranTop Newsuswar Cyprus, Bulgaria among Iran’s potential targets in Europe, FT reports Raf Akrotiri Cyprus Relevant News Cyprus, Bulgaria among Iran’s potential targets in Europe, FT reports 19 August 2026 Hormuz traffic slows as uncertainty over waterway persists 19 August 2026 As Europe bakes, momentum grows for climate-resilient farming 19 August 2026 newsroom 19 August 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber Iran is considering widening the war beyond the Middle East to strike US military targets in Europe in the event of fresh escalation by Washington, according to the Financial Times, which cited people familiar with the internal discussions. Potential targets are said to include installations in southeastern Europe, among them Cyprus and Bulgaria, with particular mention of the British base at Akrotiri. Iranian sources warned that if the US strikes Iranian infrastructure, Tehran could abandon its limited Middle East strategy and extend retaliation to European territory. The FT also reported that Iran’s armed forces have examined scenarios involving attacks on undersea fibre-optic cables in the Strait of Hormuz. Two sources with knowledge of the discussions told the FT that Iranian forces have assessed scenarios for attacks on US military installations in southeastern Europe, including in Bulgaria. Sofia approved the use of the Bezmer air base by US refuelling aircraft last month. One source said Cyprus is among the possible retaliation targets should the US launch a new attack. According to the same information, Iran’s armed forces have separately examined the possibility of attacking undersea fibre-optic cables in the Strait of Hormuz should the conflict escalate further. Tehran sees new war as likely The threats reflect the mood inside Tehran, where a growing number of regime figures now see a resumption of hostilities as a matter of timing rather than likelihood. Talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz have stalled. Last week, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, placed hardline figures in top posts within the country’s security and military structures. On Tuesday, Donald Trump said no talks or contacts were underway or planned with Tehran. The IRGC and other Iranian military commanders have warned that in the event of a new full-scale conflict, Iran would abandon its previous strategy of focusing on US military installations, energy infrastructure and other targets within the Middle East, extending strikes well beyond the region. Last month, the IRGC also cautioned Britain that it would hold British bases responsible if Washington used them to launch strikes on Iran, warning that such involvement would draw retaliation in kind. How real is the threat to Europe Sidharth Kaushal, a research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London, described the threat posed by Iranian missiles to targets in Europe and elsewhere as real but limited. According to Kaushal, Iran could use medium-range ballistic missiles, such as those in the Shahab series, against US installations in southern and southeastern Europe. However, he said such missiles would likely struggle to cause significant damage at greater distances. The scale of any Iranian retaliation would depend on Washington’s next moves, according to the FT’s sources. One source said the regime is preparing a plan to widen the conflict further if Trump follows through on previous threats to strike Iranian infrastructure. Trump said last month that Washington would destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant each time the Islamic Republic hits a ship in the Strait of Hormuz. A second source said Tehran would place no limit on its response to a US attack, warning that if the US went too far, Iran would defend itself regardless of the cost and would strike Europe as well. The message via Diego Garcia, Turkey and Cyprus Iran has already shown itself willing to target sites at very long range. In the weeks after the US and Israel launched the war in February, Washington accused Tehran of firing multiple missiles at Diego Garcia, the joint US-British military base in the Indian Ocean roughly 4,000 kilometres away. None of the missiles reached their target. In March, Turkey said NATO air defences had intercepted several ballistic missiles launched from Iran. That same month, the British base at Akrotiri in Cyprus was hit by a drone. Western officials assessed at the time that it was most likely an Iranian unmanned aircraft used by forces aligned with Tehran, rather than a direct strike by Iran itself. The sources said Iran’s attack last month on a US base in Jordan, in which three American service members were killed, was the most precise long-range strike carried out by the Islamic Republic to date and demonstrated its ability to hit targets at greater distances. The first source said the Jordan strike also carried a message to Europe: that the continent could be hit by missiles and needed to consider its position in the conflict. The same source added that a serious mistake, such as a strike on Iranian infrastructure, could push the war beyond the region and into Europe. Hardliners gain ground in Tehran At the same time, some within the Iranian regime are concerned that Tehran may be overplaying its hand. Many hardliners, however, believe the United States cannot be trusted to honour any agreement and argue that Iran must raise the cost for Washington to ensure it upholds its commitments under any eventual deal. Among them is Mohsen Rezaei, a former commander of the Revolutionary Guards, whom Khamenei placed last week in the top post of the country’s security apparatus. Iranian analysts interpreted the move as a sign that figures such as Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Tehran’s chief negotiator, have for now been sidelined, as prospects for a lasting agreement appear increasingly slim. The second source said Iran was signalling that failure to reach an agreement with Ghalibaf would leave the West dealing with Rezaei instead, and summed up Tehran’s broader message as a warning that Washington should not push too far, since Iran was prepared to go further still. 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