A leading member of Iran’s nuclear negotiating team promised on Wednesday to "wipe out" every American military base in the Middle East if the United States joins Israel in an attack on the Islamic Republic.
The fresh threat comes ahead of an expected Iranian attack on Israel in response to the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week. Iran says it is preparing for a large-scale attack on the Jewish state as retribution.
"If the United States gets involved in any attack on Iran, have no doubt that the United States will be wiped out in Iraq, and the U.S. bases in the Persian Gulf region will be destroyed and those regimes that host the U.S. bases will be destroyed," Mohammad Marandi, an adviser to the Iranian nuclear negotiating team, said in a Wednesday interview.
Iran’s regional terror proxies in Yemen and Iraq have launched hundreds of strikes on U.S. positions across the region in recent years, with a significant uptick coming in the wake of Hamas’s Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel.
Following Haniyeh’s killing last week, Biden-Harris administration officials launched an intense diplomatic campaign to temper Tehran’s response. Then, on Monday, a rocket attack from what the Pentagon called an "Iran-aligned militia" injured five U.S. service members and two U.S. contractors.
Still, U.S. officials reportedly believe their mediation is working. Iranian officials are signaling they will bombard Israel with advanced missiles and rockets.
"Iran has no option but to strike Israel even though Iran does not want a regional war," Marandi said. "So the smart thing for the Americans to do is to be very careful about what they do."
In likely preparation for a strike, the Iranian military has begun deploying "radar, missile, and drone capabilities" across the country, state-controlled media reported on Wednesday.
Russia has also provided Tehran with advanced air defense systems and sophisticated radars following a request by Iran for support. Russian security official Sergei Shoigu was in Tehran earlier this week as Moscow began delivering weapons to the country.
Iran’s army chief said in a Wednesday speech that Tehran’s "response to the Israeli act of assassination would be powerful," state-controlled media reported. "The Zionist criminal gang that does not adhere to any rules and laws will definitely receive a definite and strong answer for the assassination of Martyr Haniyeh."
It is believed Iran has advanced ballistic missiles and drones that are capable of penetrating Israel’s Iron Dome defense system, which was strained earlier in the year when Iran launched an unprecedented barrage on the Jewish state that was fended off with support from the United States and Arab nations.
The Biden-Harris administration, meanwhile, continues to urge calm on all sides.
"It’s urgent that everyone in the region take stock of the situation, understand the risk of miscalculation, and make decisions that will calm tensions, not exacerbate them," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday. "We’ve been engaged in intense diplomacy with allies and partners, communicating that message directly to Iran. We’ve communicated that message directly to Israel."
President Joe Biden reportedly scolded Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a tense phone call last week, with Biden telling Netanyahu, "stop bullshitting me."
The United States believes Israel’s recent killing of top Hezbollah and Hamas commanders is harming efforts to broker a ceasefire that would end the current war.
Responding to the report, Netanyahu’s office said the leader "expects the Americans to also not intervene in Israeli politics."