Egypt Daily News – Iran has issued a stark warning to the United States, vowing to target American military bases across the Middle East if a military conflict breaks out. The threat, delivered by Iranian Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh on Wednesday, comes at a time of heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington, as both sides head into a new round of nuclear negotiations.
Nasirzadeh declared that Iran has the capability to strike all U.S. military sites in host countries throughout the region. “All those bases will be within our range of fire without hesitation if a confrontation begins,” he said, while expressing hope that diplomacy would prevail. “We hope the talks succeed and matters don’t escalate to that point,” he added.
This warning coincides with a coordinated move by the U.S., Germany, France, and the UK to present a resolution before the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors. The draft resolution criticizes Iran for its lack of cooperation with the agency and for accelerating uranium enrichment to 60%, a level just short of weapons-grade.
A vote on the resolution was scheduled for Wednesday evening in Vienna, amid warnings of potential consequences and suggestions that the issue could be referred to the UN Security Council if Tehran fails to adjust its stance in the coming weeks.
The resolution accuses Iran of failing to meet its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and of ignoring repeated calls for transparency. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi expressed deep concern, stating, “Without full and effective cooperation from Iran, the agency cannot verify the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program.”
In response, Iran’s permanent representative to the IAEA, Reza Najafi, rejected the report as “baseless and politically motivated,” accusing Western nations of trying to politicize the nuclear file. “Iran will respond firmly if the resolution is adopted,” he warned.
These developments come just ahead of a sixth round of indirect talks between Iran and the United States, aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA), which collapsed after Washington’s unilateral withdrawal under President Donald Trump in 2018. While Iran insists its nuclear program is entirely peaceful, Western powers and Israel remain convinced that Tehran is seeking nuclear weapons capability, a claim Tehran vehemently denies.
If the resolution is passed, Iran has threatened to further scale back its cooperation with the IAEA, a move that could deepen the standoff and push the region closer to a potential escalation.
