Update(1637ET): There’s widespread reporting that President Trump is mulling direct US military assistance to Israel as it battles Iran, which would mean America getting sucked into another major war in the Middle East. Tehran in response has warned that it is prepared to hit US bases in the region if Trump pulls the trigger:
Iran has prepared missiles and other military equipment for strikes on U.S. bases in the Middle East should the United States join Israel’s war against the country, according to American officials who have reviewed intelligence reports.
The United States has sent about three dozen refueling aircraft to Europe that could be used to assist fighter jets protecting American bases or that would be used to extend the range of bombers involved in any possible strike on Iranian nuclear facilities.
Fears of a wider war are growing among American officials as Israel presses the White House to intervene in its conflict with Iran. If the United States joins the Israeli campaign and strikes Fordo, a key Iranian nuclear facility, the Iranian-backed Houthi militia will almost certainly resume striking ships in the Red Sea, the officials said. They added that pro-Iranian militias in Iraq and Syria would probably try to attack U.S. bases there.
And more: “Other officials said that in the event of an attack, Iran could begin to mine the Strait of Hormuz, a tactic meant to pin American warships in the Persian Gulf,” NYT writes.
Meanwhile, the exiled US-backed Iranian monarchy is urgently calling for Iranians to rise up in the streets against the Ayatollah, in a massive development. Reza Pahlavi is issuing these statements from US soil, where the family has long resided…