Iran is fortifying its defenses, rallying loyalists and threatening a wider, harsher response against the U.S. and its Gulf allies as it prepares for potential American attacks after the midterms and seeks to deter them.
Satellite images show Iran is strengthening sensitive locations, including nuclear sites and border areas, to make them more resilient to attacks. The government is also preparing Iranians for renewed war, sending paramilitary forces to read war stories to kindergartners, advertising training in firing shoulder-mounted antiaircraft missiles and holding rallies. “With a new war, the Islamic Republic could dig itself out of the cul-de-sac it has dug for itself. That would add to the threat Saudi Arabia faces from Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen, who attacked its capital’s international airport over the weekend. Iran has stepped up its strikes on vessels in the Persian Gulf area. Maritime Trade Operations, which is affiliated with the Royal Navy. Iran has also reinforced protection around its nuclear sites and other security-related bunkers.
3 midterm elections, he has publicly mulled hitting Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site, and U.S. officials have said that the military is preparing a range of options for new strikes.
“The war footing is serving them well for now due to an impasse on many fronts—diplomatically, economically and politically,” said Sanam Vakil, Middle East director at London’s Chatham House think tank. In an attempt to deter a potential attack, some Iranian officials have hinted that their forces could conduct land incursions into neighboring countries, according to people familiar with the warnings. Tehran has separately warned Arab officials that it could strike regional targets including Saudi oil facilities in the event of a renewed conflict, some of the people said. At least three commercial vessels were hit over the weekend in and around the strait, according to U.K. The government has also told mediators that it would more aggressively target U.S. personnel, including by trying to sink U.S. warships in the Middle East and kill their crews, according to some of the people familiar with the warnings. Last month, it built passive defense measures such as makeshift dirt mounds around its Pickaxe Mountain and Natanz nuclear sites to impede any attempted raid by ground forces, according to Vantor satellite images analyzed by the Institute for Science and International Security, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit.
While President Trump last week ruled out an attack before the Nov. Iran’s top national security official, Mohsen Rezaei, said on Sunday that Tehran could target the United Arab Emirates, which has largely escaped being attacked since late spring, as well as data centers and internet cables across the region. A drone attack set a fire on Emirati tanker Petro Dolphin near Oman on Sunday, leaving two Indian sailors missing.
