AP — As US forces mass in the Middle East, Iran faces the threat of major strikes by the world’s most powerful military, potentially targeting its leaders, military, nuclear sites, and critical infrastructure.

Iran has nowhere near the capabilities of the United States, and is even more vulnerable after last year’s war with Israel as well as recent anti-government protests. But it could still inflict pain on American forces and allies, and may feel it has to if the Islamic Republic’s survival is at stake.

While Iran suffered major losses last June, it still has hundreds of missiles capable of hitting Israel, according to Israel’s estimates. Iran boasts a much larger arsenal of shorter-range missiles capable of hitting US bases in Gulf countries and offshore American forces, soon to be joined by a second aircraft carrier.

Iran has previously threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for the global oil trade, and claimed to have done so partially during military drills last week.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that Iran could sink American warships, and top officials have said a US attack would spark regional war. Iran’s UN ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said “all bases, facilities and assets of the hostile force in the region” would be legitimate targets.

Israel carried out heavy strikes on Iran’s longer-range missile arsenals — as well as its military leadership and nuclear program — during the 12-day war in June. The US struck Iran’s main nuclear sites, and US President Donald Trump said at the time that they had been “obliterated.”

But the extent of the damage — and how much has been rebuilt — is still unknown. Iran continued to strike Israel with missiles and drones until the fighting stopped, often eluding its vaunted air defenses.

Iran’s shorter-range missile arsenal was largely untouched, said Danny Citrinowicz, an Iran expert at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies. That could make Iran more inclined to retaliate against tens of thousands of US forces based in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and elsewhere.

“Iran may be weak. But it still has ways to inflict real pain on the United States —........

© The Times of Israel