Iran has issued a chilling warning that a key US military base and thousands of American troops could be obliterated if President Donald Trump orders a strike on Tehran.
Iranian armed forces-run Defra Press claimed Wednesday that Iran ‘certainly has sufficient weapons’ to attack Diego Garcia, a remote island in the Indian Ocean where the US has recently bolstered military presence.
The report directly threatened US Air Force and Navy assets, stating that the 4,000 American soldiers it claims are stationed there would be ‘risk of complete destruction’ in the event of an American attack on Iran.
While official estimates suggest the base at Diego Garcia typically hosts 400 military personnel and 2,000 civilian contractors, the state newspaper suggested the current presence of strategic assets makes it a prime target.
It comes as the US launched a fresh round of airstrikes on pro-Iranian targets Thursday as it prepares to reportedly bomb Iran’s nuke programme.
The Houthis, a rebel Iranian proxy force, said six people were killed in the fresh strikes across the land they control, including a guard at a communications tower. They also claimed the US struck a water project, killing four, in the Hodeida governorate’s Mansuriyah District. Some 17 strikes also hit Saada, near the Saudi border, and another person was killed at Ras Isa port in Hodeida, the Houthis said.
The US is shooting missiles from its destroyers and launching fighter jets from its aircraft carrier nearby – the USS Harry Truman.
Defra Press also outlined a number of potential attack strategies including how Iran could launch a devastating assault using its advanced Shahed-136 drones, which have a range of 4,000km – enough to reach Diego Garcia from Iran.
Iranian armed forces-run Defra Press claimed Wednesday that Iran ‘certainly has sufficient weapons’ to attack Diego Garcia. Pictured: American B-2 bomber planes on the tarmac of Mauritius’ US military base on Diego Garcia island as well as six logistical Stratotanker aircrafts for in-flight refueling
Iran could launch a devastating assault using its advanced Shahed-136 drones, which have a range of 4,000km – enough to reach Diego Garcia from Ira. Pictured: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran
The state newspaper outlined a number of potential attack strategies including how Iran could launch a devastating assault using its advanced Shahed-136 drones, which have a range of 4,000km – enough to reach Diego Garcia from Iran
Iran’s long-range Khorramshahr missile and the Shahed-136B kamikaze drone could reach the Chagos Islands from southern Iran
The Shaheds pack an explosive charge, can be fired one after the other, and can ‘loiter’ above potential targets for hours before being slammed directly into enemy soldiers, vehicles or buildings from above – causing a blast.
However, the drones’ speed of 185km/h would mean a journey of nearly 20 hours – a significant window for US forces to intercept them.
Tehran could also unleash Khorramshahr ballistic missiles and other long-range weapons to strike the base. The weapon has a range of 2,000km and is able to carry a 3,300-pound warhead.
But Iran’s missile stockpile has been severely depleted following Israeli airstrikes in April and October 2024, meaning Tehran may struggle to carry out a sustained attack.
Iranian warships could also attempt to get closer to Diego Garcia and launch missile and drone attacks from the Indian Ocean, but the vessels are poorly equipped to withstand a US naval response.
In a show of force, the US has significantly increased its military presence in the Middle East.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has extended the deployment of the USS Harry Truman aircraft carrier in the region.
Additionally, the USS Carl Vinson, which usually patrols the South China Sea, has been redirected to the Persian Gulf, directly south of Iran, to joint its sister carried USS Truman.
This will result in a rare two-carrier presence aimed at deterring Iranian aggression.
America has also already moved six B-2 Spirit stealth bombers to the Chagos Islands, a third of its fleet, with satellite imagery showing them resting at the Diego Garcia military base on the UK-controlled island.
These high-tech planes have the capability of carrying bunker busting bombs across Iran that could destroy its military and nuclear sites.
The B-2 Spirits will likely be supported by a fleet of six Stratotanker in-flight refuelling craft, which were seen at Diego Garcia.
These would give the Spirits the capability to fly to Iran, deliver payloads and fly back to the Chagos Islands in a roughly 5,000-mile round trip.
Satellite images show three B-2 Spirit aircrafts (circled) on the Diego Garcia UK-US security outpost
The US is moving the USS Carl Vinson (pictured) from Asia, where it normally patrols the South China Sea, to the Persian Gulf, directly south of Iran
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has extended the deployment of the USS Harry Truman aircraft carrier in the region
Donald Trump vowed to bomb Iran unless it agrees to a new nuclear deal with Washington
Diego Garcia is the largest of the Chagos Islands and home to a UK-US military base
The deployment underscores the escalating tensions and the US’s preparedness for any possible conflict with the Middle Eastern country.
But Iran has stepped up its rhetoric against the US in recent weeks, repeatedly threatening American bases across the Middle East.
A senior Iranian officials ominously warned the Wall Street Journal that ‘each American soldier will be an individual target’ if the US carried out a strike on Iran.
Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of Iran’s Aerospace Force, claimed the US has at least 10 bases and over 50,000 troops in the region – all of whom are within range of Iran’s weapons.
Tehran has previously launched strikes on US bases in Iraq, Syria, and Jordan, while Iran-backed Houthis have targeted Al Dhafra Airbase in Abu Dhabi, which hosts both US and French personnel.
And with tensions at an all-time high, all eyes are on President Trump, who has vowed to take a harder stance on Iran.
He has threatened to attack the Middle Eastern nation with a ‘bombing the likes to which they’ve never seen before’ should its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, refuse to destroy its nuclear programme and stop supporting proxy wars in the Middle East.
But Iran appears to be stepping up to the military challenge, with Khamenei adviser Ali Larijani recently telling local media: ‘If America or Israel bomb Iran under the nuclear pretext, Iran will be compelled to move toward producing an atomic bomb.’
Last month, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported that Iran had substantially increased its production of nuclear-capable uranium, and had increased its stockpile of near-weapons grade material.
Iran has threatened to strike American bases and ‘blow up’ the entire Middle East if Donald Trump follows through on his warning of military action in the absence of a new nuclear deal. The image shows an Iranian rocket launched during a drill earlier last year
The United States is increasing the number of aircraft carriers deployed in the Middle East to two, keeping one that is already there and sending another from the Indo-Pacific, the Pentagon said April 2, 2025
Pictured: The launch of a missile during a military drill at an undisclosed location in southern Iran, January 2024
The US is also exerting financial pressure on Iran, with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday meeting in Washington with 16 global banks and federal law enforcement agencies on US sanctions policy on Iran including efforts to cut its oil exports.
Bessent said President Trump’s administration is applying economic pressure to the maximum extent possible to disrupt Iran’s access to financial resources that help it fund Hamas and other militant groups throughout the Middle East and its efforts to obtain a nuclear weapon.
‘This includes the billions of dollars each year that Iran generates via its oil sales, which the regime also uses to finance its dangerous agenda and support its multiple terrorist proxies and partners,’ Bessent said, according to a copy of his remarks.
Iran says its nuclear program is for civilian purposes.
Trump restored his policy of maximum pressure on Iran in February that includes efforts to drive its oil exports down to zero.
In March Treasury slapped sanctions on tankers carrying Iranian oil and on a Chinese ‘teapot’ refinery for processing the oil. Teapots are small, independent refineries in China. China’s national oil company refineries have stopped buying Iranian oil over concerns about sanctions.
Bessent mentioned the US sanctioning of Shandong Shouguang Luqing Petrochemical Co., Ltd, the small refinery, and its chief executive officer for purchasing and refining hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian crude oil, including from vessels linked to the Houthis and the Iranian Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics.
‘Teapot refinery purchases of Iranian oil provide the primary economic lifeline for the Iranian regime,’ Bessent said.
Bessent also warned the banks that Iran conducts its foreign exchange activities through a covert shadow banking network.
‘My message to financial institutions worldwide is unequivocal: safeguard your institutions from being exploited by this malign network, so you can continue to serve your legitimate clients with integrity,’ Bessent told the banks, according to the Treasury Department.
The department did not immediately respond to a request about which banks and agencies participated.
Bessent said Treasury uses tools such as Wednesday’s meeting to bring together financial institutions, regulatory agencies, and law enforcement, to disrupt what it calls Iran’s illicit revenue streams.
In an NBC interview over the weekend, Trump also threatened so-called secondary tariffs, which affect buyers of a country’s goods, on both Russia and Iran.
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