New Delhi: As the U.S. launched airstrikes on three key nuclear facilities in Iran on June 22, 2025, Iran threatened to retaliate immediately on American military bases, including targeting the U.S. Navy Fifth fleet in Bahrain through a missile strike, with fears of a potential large-scale war in West Asia.
The attacks were carried out by the U.S. using the B-2 stealth bombers equipped with GBU-57 bunker buster bombs, with a weight of 30,000 pounds, against the nuclear infrastructure of Iran in retaliation for Iran against Israel using the missiles, killing 24 civilians. The Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi denounced the strike as a criminal act of defying international law, the United Nations charter, and the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and promised countermeasures in response to that move within the framework of his country to have the right to self-defence. This unjustified aggression requires a radical response, he wrote on X.
Hussain Shariatmadari, a close Khamenei ally whose Kayhan newspaper is widely considered an Iranian hardliner, called for missiles to be launched at the bases of the US and to close the Strait of Hormuz, which is an important oil passageway in the world. He said on Telegram that Iran should act to target US assets, or the world will face an energy crisis if the strait is closed. Iran has more than 2,000 ballistic missiles, out of which its military has bases capable of launching attacks on the U.S. facilities in Bahrain, Qatar, and the UAE.
Michael Rubin, an ex-Pentagon official who was speaking to ANI warned that even when the U.S. does not want open war, they are ready to deliver an all-out attack should Iran launch one. Rubin added that the U.S. desires to resort to diplomacy, perhaps through the UN or Europe, and that the escalation by Iran might make a more vigorous response necessary. He observed that there was a strategic disjuncture: Israel wanted to bring down the regime in Tehran, whereas the U.S. wanted the leadership to change but without reaching the point of a collapse (regime change).
Additionally, Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen posed a threat to U.S. warships operating in the Red Sea. The strikes were blamed by Houthi official Hezam al-Assad, who threatened on social media with a retaliation of serious consequences that he put the blame on President Donald Trump. The Houthis might start to attack shipping, which would once again hamper global trade, given that they were already suppressed by U.S. strikes in March 2025.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told CBS News that American forces are in high preparedness with more than 40,000 American facilities on the ground and the two carrier groups, USS Carl Vinson and the USS Nimitz, in the Arabian Sea. We maintain an arm-defensive posture and will respond forcefully to any attack on U.S. resources. The launch of 21 refuelling tankers in Europe suggests an extended duration of operations.