US base and 4,000 of its troops are 'at risk of complete destruction' if Trump decides to strike Iran, state newspaper warns as it lays out how Tehran would launch attack with long-range drones

Iran has issued a chilling informing that a cardinal US subject basal and thousands of American troops could beryllium obliterated if President Donald Trump orders a onslaught connected Tehran.

Iranian equipped forces-run Defra Press claimed Wednesday that Iran 'certainly has capable weapons' to onslaught Diego Garcia, a distant land successful the Indian Ocean wherever the US has precocious bolstered subject presence.

The study straight threatened US Air Force and Navy assets, stating that the 4,000 American soldiers it claims are stationed determination would beryllium 'risk of implicit destruction' successful the lawsuit of an American onslaught connected Iran.

While authoritative estimates suggest the basal astatine Diego Garcia typically hosts 400 subject unit and 2,000 civilian contractors, the authorities paper suggested the existent beingness of strategical assets makes it a premier target.

It comes arsenic the US launched a caller circular of airstrikes connected pro-Iranian targets Thursday arsenic it prepares to reportedly weaponry Iran's nuke programme.

The Houthis, a rebel Iranian proxy force, said six radical were killed successful the caller strikes crossed the onshore they control, including a defender astatine a communications tower. They besides claimed the US struck a h2o project, sidesplitting four, successful the Hodeida governorate's Mansuriyah District. Some 17 strikes besides deed Saada, adjacent the Saudi border, and different idiosyncratic was killed astatine Ras Isa larboard successful Hodeida, the Houthis said.

The US is shooting missiles from its destroyers and launching combatant jets from its craft bearer adjacent - the USS Harry Truman.

Defra Press besides outlined a fig of imaginable onslaught strategies including however Iran could motorboat a devastating battle utilizing its precocious Shahed-136 drones, which person a scope of 4,000km - capable to scope Diego Garcia from Iran.

The Shaheds battalion an explosive charge, tin beryllium fired 1 aft the other, and can 'loiter' supra imaginable targets for hours earlier being slammed straight into force soldiers, vehicles oregon buildings from supra - causing a blast.

However, the drones' velocity of 185km/h would mean a travel of astir 20 hours - a important model for US forces to intercept them.

Tehran could besides unleash Khorramshahr ballistic missiles and different long-range weapons to onslaught the base. The limb has a scope of 2,000km and is capable to transportation a 3,300-pound warhead.

But Iran's rocket stockpile has been severely depleted following Israeli airstrikes successful April and October 2024, meaning Tehran whitethorn conflict to transportation retired a sustained attack.

Iranian warships could besides effort to get person to Diego Garcia and motorboat rocket and drone attacks from the Indian Ocean, but the vessels are poorly equipped to withstand a US naval response.

In a amusement of force, the US has importantly accrued its subject beingness successful the Middle East.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has extended the deployment of the USS Harry Truman craft bearer successful the region.

Additionally, the USS Carl Vinson, which usually patrols the South China Sea, has been redirected to the Persian Gulf, straight southbound of Iran, to associated its sister carried USS Truman.

This volition effect successful a uncommon two-carrier beingness aimed astatine deterring Iranian aggression. 

America has besides already moved six B-2 Spirit stealth bombers to the Chagos Islands, a 3rd of its fleet, with outer imagery showing them resting astatine the Diego Garcia subject basal connected the UK-controlled island. 

These high-tech planes person the capableness of carrying bunker busting bombs crossed Iran that could destruct its subject and atomic sites.

The B-2 Spirits volition apt beryllium supported by a fleet of six Stratotanker in-flight refuelling craft, which were seen astatine Diego Garcia. 

These would springiness the Spirits the capableness to alert to Iran, present payloads and alert backmost to the Chagos Islands successful a astir 5,000-mile circular trip. 

The deployment underscores the escalating tensions and the US's preparedness for immoderate imaginable struggle with the Middle Eastern country.

But Iran has stepped up its rhetoric against the US successful caller weeks, repeatedly threatening American bases crossed the Middle East.

A elder Iranian officials ominously warned the Wall Street Journal that 'each American worker volition beryllium an idiosyncratic target' if the US carried retired a onslaught connected Iran.

Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commandant of Iran's Aerospace Force, claimed the US has astatine slightest 10 bases and implicit 50,000 troops successful the portion - each of whom are wrong scope of Iran's weapons.

Tehran has antecedently launched strikes connected US bases successful Iraq, Syria, and Jordan, portion Iran-backed Houthis person targeted Al Dhafra Airbase successful Abu Dhabi, which hosts some US and French personnel.

And with tensions astatine an all-time high, each eyes are connected President Trump, who has vowed to instrumentality a harder stance connected Iran. 

He has threatened to onslaught the Middle Eastern federation with a 'bombing the likes to which they've ne'er seen before' should its ultimate leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, garbage to destruct its atomic programme and halt supporting proxy wars successful the Middle East.

But Iran appears to beryllium stepping up to the subject challenge, with Khamenei adviser Ali Larijani precocious telling section media: 'If America oregon Israel weaponry Iran nether the atomic pretext, Iran volition beryllium compelled to determination toward producing an atomic bomb.'

Last month, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported that Iran had substantially accrued its accumulation of nuclear-capable uranium, and had accrued its stockpile of near-weapons people material. 

The US is besides exerting fiscal unit connected Iran, with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent connected Wednesday gathering successful Washington with 16 planetary banks and national instrumentality enforcement agencies connected US sanctions argumentation connected Iran including efforts to chopped its lipid exports.

Bessent said President Trump's medication is applying economical unit to the maximum grade imaginable to disrupt Iran's entree to fiscal resources that assistance it money Hamas and different militant groups passim the Middle East and its efforts to get a atomic weapon.

'This includes the billions of dollars each twelvemonth that Iran generates via its lipid sales, which the authorities besides uses to concern its unsafe docket and enactment its aggregate violent proxies and partners,' Bessent said, according to a transcript of his remarks.

Iran says its atomic programme is for civilian purposes.

Trump restored his argumentation of maximum unit connected Iran successful February that includes efforts to thrust its lipid exports down to zero.

In March Treasury slapped sanctions connected tankers carrying Iranian lipid and connected a Chinese 'teapot' refinery for processing the oil. Teapots are small, autarkic refineries successful China. China's nationalist lipid institution refineries person stopped buying Iranian lipid implicit concerns astir sanctions.

Bessent mentioned the US sanctioning of Shandong Shouguang Luqing Petrochemical Co., Ltd, the tiny refinery, and its main enforcement serviceman for purchasing and refining hundreds of millions of dollars' worthy of Iranian crude oil, including from vessels linked to the Houthis and the Iranian Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics.

'Teapot refinery purchases of Iranian lipid supply the superior economical lifeline for the Iranian regime,' Bessent said.

Bessent besides warned the banks that Iran conducts its overseas speech activities done a covert shadiness banking network. 

'My connection to fiscal institutions worldwide is unequivocal: safeguard your institutions from being exploited by this malign network, truthful you tin proceed to service your morganatic clients with integrity,' Bessent told the banks, according to the Treasury Department.

The section did not instantly respond to a petition astir which banks and agencies participated.

Bessent said Treasury uses tools specified arsenic Wednesday's gathering to bring unneurotic fiscal institutions, regulatory agencies, and instrumentality enforcement, to disrupt what it calls Iran's illicit gross streams.

In an NBC interrogation implicit the weekend, Trump besides threatened alleged secondary tariffs, which impact buyers of a country's goods, connected some Russia and Iran.