Iran threatens swift retaliation on US bases

[Retired Tech]

TEHRAN, IRAN – Iran declared Wednesday that it can destroy nearby
U.S. military bases and strike Israel within minutes of an attack on
the Islamic Republic, reflecting tensions over Iran's suspect nuclear
program.

The veiled threat came during a military drill that has included the
firing of ballistic missiles. The elite Revolutionary Guards,
conducting the war games in Iran's central desert, said that the
missiles were aimed at mock-ups of foreign military bases.

Israel and the U.S. have hinted at the possibility of military strikes
against Iran if sanctions and diplomacy do not rein in Iran's nuclear
development program. The West suspects Iran may be aiming to build
nuclear weapons. Iran insists its program is for peaceful purposes.

The semiofficial Fars news agency quoted Gen. Ami Ali Hajizadeh of the
Revolutionary Guards as saying U.S. bases are in range of Iran's
missiles and could be hit in retaliatory strikes. He referred to
Israel as "occupied territories."

"Measures have been taken so that we could destroy all these bases in
the early minutes of an attack," said Hajizadeh, chief of the Guards'
air-space division.

Israeli officials refused to comment. There was no immediate comment
from Washington.

Hajizadeh said the Guards also successfully test fired an anti-ship
missile that could sink U.S. warships in the Gulf. Gen. Hajizadeh told
state TV that the shore-to-sea ballistic missile, called "Persian
Gulf," has a range of 300 kilometers (180 miles).

State TV showed video of the launching of a white missile that hit a
huge target in Gulf waters.

The U.S. reportedly bolstered its air and naval presence in the
Persian Gulf. It is an effort to strengthen the U.S.'s position at the
Strait of Hormuz, which is a key world oil route Iran has threatened
to block amid tightening sanctions over its nuclear program, the New
York Times reports.

The message to Iran is, ‘Don’t even think about it,’ ” one senior
Defense Department official told the New York Times. “We’ll clear the
mines. Don’t even think about sending your fast boats out to harass
our vessels or commercial shipping. We’ll put them on the bottom of
the gulf.”

The U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet is based in Bahrain, an island in the Gulf
about 200 kilometers (120 miles) from Iran, well within range of
Iranian missiles.

On Tuesday Iran said it launched a variety of missiles during the
desert drill, including Shahab-3 missiles with a range of 2,000
kilometers (1,200 miles) that could reach Israel and southern Europe.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.