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According to media reports quoting a senior source in the Iranian General Staff, Iran has raised its alert level and is ready to deliver immediate responses in the event of an attack by the United States against its sovereign territory. The state of alert is in response to terrorist threats issued by U.S. President Donald Trump to bomb Iran if the country does not strike a deal over its nuclear weapons capabilities.

"If they don't make a deal, there will be bombing," he told NBC in a phone interview on March 30.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei responded on March 31 saying that while Iran believes a U.S. strike is unlikely, "if they commit any mischief they will surely receive a strong reciprocal blow." He accused the U.S. of "bullying," saying Iran will "definitely not accept their expectations."

This was followed with Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell announcing on April 2 that "the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group would be joined in the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility by the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group on the orders of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth."

"To complement the CENTCOM maritime posture, the Secretary also ordered the deployment of additional squadrons and other air assets that will further reinforce our defensive air-support capabilities," he said. This includes F-35 fighters and B-2 stealth bombers, a U.S. official told USA Today.

"Should Iran or its proxies threaten American personnel and interests in the region, the United States will take decisive action to defend our people," Parnell said.

All of it is going on while world attention is focused on Donald Trump's so-called "Liberation Day" executive orders which target most of its trading "partners" with unsustainable tariffs which are causing havoc to the international trading system.

The Israeli newspaper Maariv claimed that the Iranian armed forces are aiming more than 1,000 hypersonic ballistic missiles at nuclear facilities in Israel. The missiles are programmed to target Israel's Dimona nuclear plant, as well as several other facilities in central Israel, where sensitive strategic sites have been transferred, the source quoted by Maariv said. According to the same source, Iranian forces are also aiming their missiles at U.S. military bases in the region. The Indian paper The Week reported on April 1:

"The Iranian military is contemplating striking the U.S. base at Diego Garcia to deter the U.S. from using the base to target the Islamic Republic, according to a report. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) plans to target the four long-range stealth B-2 bombers stationed at the base in the Indian Ocean."

It quotes the British paper The Telegraph saying the discussion among top IRGC officials revolves around Diego Garcia ever since the U.S. stationed the bombers there, "'The response to Trump's threats must come through action, not words. Every base in the region is within the range of our missiles,' the official said, adding that the commanders have been urging leaders to order an attack on the base if Trump's threats against Iran become serious."

"The IRGC is preparing for an all-out war and is confident that Iran's missiles can strike any target in the region, be it Bahrain or Diego Garcia," The Week writes, adding "Commanders have been instructed to ensure that all missile launchers are prepared and that nuclear facilities are protected,' the official added."

According to The Week, "satellite images showed at least three Northrop B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, along with transport and refuelling aircraft, arriving at Diego Garcia last week. These bombers can evade even the most advanced air defence systems and carry out lethal strikes."

The joint U.S.-UK Diego Garcia naval base is on the Chiagos Islands stolen from Mauritius since the 1970's. Approximately 4,000 service personnel and civilian contractors are stationed there.

The Telegraph reports that Iranian state media warned that "Iran possesses adequate weapons for such an attack from its mainland, such as newer versions of the Khorramshahr missile that have an intermediate range, and the Shahed-136B kamikaze drone with a range of 4,000km [2,485 miles]."

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait have all told the U.S. they will not permit their airspaces or territories to be used as a launchpad against Iran, including for refuelling and rescue operations, a senior U.S. official told Middle East Eye.

Other reports claim that Iranian military commanders have asked Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to change his fatwa -- Islamic judicial opinion -- and permit the production of nuclear weapons. This would also require Iran to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) due to "pressures, threats, current circumstances and the presence of a president in Washington who might embark on an ill-advised adventure," Maariv wrote.

A source in Iran's Supreme National Security Council revealed that an informal and secret meeting was held between U.S. and Iranian representatives in the Omani capital, Muscat, on March 28. The aim is said to have been to pave the way for formal meetings between the two sides. Three representatives from each side attended the meeting which, according to the source, was "very positive."

(U.S.A. Today, Newsweek, Middle East Monitor, The Telegraph, The Week (India))

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This article was published in

Volume 55 Number 5 - April 3, 2025

Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2025/Articles/TS55051.HTM

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