Iran looks toward Europe as revenge for Soleimani's death
After Washington killed Iran’s Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani on January 3, the intensity of threats between the two sides has escalated, with each prepared to respond in the event of any strike.
Iran has therefore sent messages through its officials to the United States about its forthcoming responses, as Revolutionary Guards political bureau chief Yadollah Javani emphasized that Iran will respond to the US strike that killed Soleimani, saying the United States should look out for revenge within Europe.
Reciprocal threats
Javani added that the Americans should confront the peoples of the region and the axis of the entire resistance, not just Iran. Iranian media also quoted lawmaker Hossein Naqvi Hosseini, a spokesman for the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, as saying that it would not be necessary to seek revenge for the killing of Soleimani and his comrades from inside Iran.
This means that Iran has started preparing its arms in the region to avenge the killing of Soleimani through the factions and militias its supports in the region, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthi militias in Yemen, and the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in Iraq. Iran will also try to strike Washington abroad, which is not a new policy for Tehran, as it has managed to assassinate many of its opponents in various European countries throughout the years.
The threats from Javani and Hosseini came to confirm that the US would not be able to target Iranian bases, after US President Donald Trump vowed in a series of tweets on January 5 that the US would strike Iran most violently if any of Washington's interests were attacked. Trump signaled that the US would bomb 52 Iranian targets if Tehran proceeded to target US bases in the region, and he announced that the United States has spent $2 trillion on modern military equipment to use against Tehran.
Terrorist cells
According to reports from British intelligence in July 2019, Iran has organized and funded terrorist sleeper cells throughout Europe, including the UK, and it is working with them to launch terrorist attacks in European countries. Reports have also revealed that Tehran is using its embassies in foreign countries as spy cells to carry out terrorist acts, as the Iranian embassy staff in these countries are not limited to diplomatic work only, but also engage in intelligence and criminal activities.
This was confirmed by the cooperation of the French, German and Belgian authorities in the arrest of Iranian diplomat Asadullah Asadi, who was planning to target the annual conference of the Iranian opposition organization Mujahideen-e Khalq (MEK) in France in June 2018. Asadi was a diplomat at the Iranian embassy in Vienna. At the same time, Dutch intelligence announced the expulsion of two diplomats belonging to the Iranian embassy in Amsterdam due to terrorism-related charges.
Avoiding war
Iranian affairs specialist Osama al-Hitimi explained that Iran targeting American interests in Europe cannot be excluded, as some within the Iranian regime may see it as the best option in order to avoid direct attacks on American bases or interests close to Iran, which could provoke Washington and enter the region into a war that would likely be catastrophic for Iran and the entire region. The European option gives Iran an opportunity to denounce or accuse others.
Hitimi told the Reference that Iran will deal with the whole world as a permissible arena to attack the US in response for killing Soleimani. This could include countries in Europe, where Iran has many terrorist cells and loyal elements to carry out the orders of the leadership in Tehran.
Foreign arms
