00:01 20-05-2026

Knutov Warns Iran Could Strike US Bases in Mideast

Fars Media Corporation, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Yury Knutov says Iran could hit US bases in the Middle East and Israeli defense sites, warning nuclear facilities pose the gravest escalation risk.

Military expert Yury Knutov believes that if hostilities resume, Iran has the means to destroy US military bases in the Middle East. He noted that Tehran has already demonstrated its capabilities by putting 15 US facilities in the Persian Gulf area out of action.

According to Knutov, Iran has modern weapons suitable for such operations, including the Khorramshahr-4 ballistic missile. He said this missile had been used against a base in the Indian Ocean and showed both effectiveness and the ability to overcome air defense systems.

The expert added that the pause in fighting may have allowed Iran to restore missile production at underground facilities. As a result, Tehran could inflict serious damage on US infrastructure in the region.

Knutov also said the United States has traditionally not viewed the Middle East as an area where its facilities could face major threats. In his assessment, many American bases are poorly protected from an engineering standpoint and were not designed to withstand strikes by powerful weapons.

Among Iran’s possible targets, Knutov named not only US military bases but also Israeli defense industry facilities, which he described as critical to the country’s military system. He believes such enterprises could be disabled for an extended period.

At the same time, the expert called strikes on nuclear infrastructure the most dangerous scenario. In particular, an attack on the reactor in Dimona could trigger a retaliatory strike on the Bushehr nuclear power plant, with severe environmental consequences for the entire Middle East.