Iran War Day 257: Iran Threatens U.S. Bases in Europe

The Iran War State of the Union: The war will cause Gulf nations more than $200 billion in damage, according to a new report. Photo by Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images Mohsen Rezaei, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said Wednesday Iran would strike U.S. bases in Europe if they were used to launch attacks. "If American aircraft take off from an American military base, even one located in a European country or some other distant region, to bomb Iran, we will strike those bases as well," Rezaei told a Lebanese outlet in an interview. The statement is the most explicit threat yet issued against U.S. installations outside the Middle East. Separately, an Iranian news agency also quoted Rezaei as saying that Iran “will not remove even a single particle of enriched nuclear material from the country.” Also on Wednesday, the insurer Allianz said in a report the Iran War would likely cost Gulf countries more than $200 billion in damage to physical infrastructure. Factoring in other economic effects, like tourism and trade impacts, the report put the total cost of the war at around $790 billion through 2030. Oil prices have remained below recent highs: Brent crude opened around $92 per barrel, and AAA reports that the average price of regular gasoline in the United States is $3.94 per gallon.