Iran has sparked fears after test-firing ballistic missiles in alleged preparation for a strike on an Israeli military base housing US-made weapons, the Islamic Republic’s state media reported this week.
The country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) war-gamed the simulated strike on hangars housing F-35 warplanes, its state-backed media claimed.
The Iranian regime reportedly used Emad and Qadr ballistic missiles against the hangars located inside a simulated version of Israel’s Palmachim Airbase.
According to reports, the base is located just outside of an unnamed Israeli city.
Iran has alleged that its missiles can travel more than 1,000 miles and can strike targets deep inside Israel.
READ MORE: Israeli attacks on Lebanon risk sparking wider war but Iran holds the key
Both the US and its ally Israel are bitter enemies of the Islamic regime, and tensions have skyrocketed since Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7.
Last month, Iran launched strikes on what it called an Israeli “espionage centre” in Erbil in northern Iraq in response to Tel Aviv’s strikes on Iranian-linked militias in Syria.
Iran’s proxy militias have also launched a series of attacks on US facilities across the Middle East. The US has responded with a campaign of retaliatory strikes as the threat of an all-out conflict in the region continues to rise.
Earlier this month, Washington launched a series of strikes on Iran-linked sites in Iraq and Syria.
Last month, the US said it directly targeted Iranian facilities in Syria for the first time since October 7 in what was Washington’s largest military response to attacks on its troops by Iranian-backed militants in the last four months.
It came after a drone attack on the US air base killed three soldiers in Jordan. The US has also been conducting military strikes against Iranian-backed Houthi rebel bases across Yemen.
This comes as the militia targets US ships transiting through the region.
One such attack took place on Tuesday, according to the US Central Command (CENTCOM).
It said the MV Star Iris was moving through the Red Sea on its route to the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Imam Khomeini.
The US central command (Centcom) said in a statement: “On February 12 from 3.30 to 3.45am Yemen time, Iranian-backed Houthi militants fired two missiles from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen toward the Bab al-Mandeb.
“Both missiles were launched toward MV Star Iris, a Greek-owned, Marshall Islands-flagged cargo vessel transiting the Red Sea carrying corn from Brazil. The ship reports being seaworthy with minor damage and no injuries to the crew.”
The attack marked the first of this nature in six days.
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