Tehran is threatening to respond to a renewed US and Israeli air campaign with strikes on an expanded list of targets, including civilian infrastructure, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.
The warnings, issued publicly and over diplomatic communications, said that Iran would attack not only American bases and warships, but also natural energy infrastructure, natural gas pipelines, airports, and other civilian targets in the Persian Gulf region.
Tehran has also threatened to utilize a new array of weapons, including nuclear bombs.
According to Iran International, a media outlet opposed to the regime, the head of the Iranian parliament's International Affairs Committee, Mohammad-Saleh Jokar, asked "The Islamic Republic's authorities, in defense of the country and for the purpose of deterrence, to permit the use of deterrent weapons, including nuclear weapons, in the event of a US attack on Iran.”
Jokar called for the suspension of Iran's cooperation with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in the event of an attack by the United States, according to Iran International.
He said that countries hosting the US in their territories or airspace would face a "harsh response" and "pay a heavy price."
Iran maintains stockpile of hundreds of thousands of missiles, drones
Analysts, according to the WSJ, estimate Iran to hold hundreds of thousands of ballistic missiles, having resumed production in underground facilities.
Iran is apparently leveraging its stockpile of missiles and drones - which remains at significant levels even after Operation Roaring Lion, Operation Epic Fury, and the succeeding blockade on the country - in an effort to deter an attack.
In the most recent bout with Iran, significant damage was inflicted on US air bases, embassies, and fleets throughout the region. Energy and industrial facilities in the UAE, as well as gas plants and airports in Qatar, Dubai, Kuwait, and Bahrain were also hit.
Tehran aims to cause even more pain in the case of a renewed campaign, especially at a time when interceptor missile stockpiles are under pressure in Israel and in US-aligned nations in the Gulf, following a suspended period of hostilities.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote an op-ed in the Financial Times, warning that new attacks “will put civilian lives and the well-being of all regional states and the global economy at great risk.”
Despite the fact that a major portion of Iran's weapons stockpiles and defensive capabilities were degraded in the recent operations (the Pentagon said that up to 90% of drones, missiles, and naval industry was destroyed), analysts told the WSJ that Iran is more than willing to expand its retaliatory efforts.
IRGC runs risk of overextending in retaliatory efforts
“The consensus in Tehran now believes that deterrence requires imposing immediate, sustained and substantial costs on its adversaries,” said Sina Toossi, an Iran expert at the Center for International Policy.
"Iran runs the risk of overreaching if it tries to make good on all its threats," an expert on the Revolutionary Guard, Saeid Golkarat, told the WSJ. The country needs to carefully manage its shrinking stockpile of missiles, he assessed.
“They certainly have the capability to inflict major damage to the region’s energy and internet infrastructure,” said Washington Institute senior fellow Farzin Nadimi. “But if Iranians do that, they’ll most likely lose their own in reciprocal attacks.”
Negotiations have been deadlocked for months, and US President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned Iran that failure to come to an agreement could result in the US attacking Iran after midterm elections in early November.
Israel, too, has stepped up its preparations for potential strikes against the Islamic regime in recent weeks, with conflicting reports saying that the IDF was planning to strike Iran on October 10 before being reeled in by US President Donald Trump.