How Iran could respond to U.S. attack

Iran will be mulling over options on how to respond to the U.S. attack,
from striking U.S. bases in the region, to blocking a key global shipping
waterway – but all carry the risk of further retaliatory aggression

Donald Trump
PRESIDENT OF
UNITED STATES

Ali Khamenei
SUPREME LEADER
OF IRAN

Benjamin Netanyahu
PRIME MINISTER
OF ISRAEL

Iran could strike
19 U.S. military
sites in region
(staffed with some
40,000 troops) by
activating proxies
across Iraq, Yemen
and Syria – groups
which have previously
attacked American
assets there

Iran could
disrupt global oil
trade by closing
Strait of Hormuz
shipping route – key
channel for oil (20
million barrels per day)
and liquefied natural
gas exports from
Middle East to global
markets

Iran could race
to build nuclear
bomb even if
current regime
collapses and new
leaders come to power
– becoming more
hostile and viewing
nuclear weapons as
their only deterrent
against future attacks

Iran may seek to
continue status
quo and just
keep hitting Israel,
knowing that it cannot
sustain full-on
confrontation with U.S.
military – hoping
Trump’s attack was
one-off demonstration
of power

Iran still has
tremendous
capacity for
cyberattacks and
terrorism, and could use
them to retaliate against
United States,
particularly as Israel’s
attacks have reduced
Iran’s military
capabilities

Iran could
resume nuclear
talks, although
they have cornered
themselves by refusing
to negotiate while Israel
attacks them – meaning
that as long as Israel
does so, Iran cannot
return to negotiations
with U.S.

Sources: CNN, Reuters, Bloomberg
Pictures: Creative Commons
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