How Iran could hit back after US strike
The majority of these would be within the 2000-kilometre range of Iran's Sejil-2 ballistic missile.
American bases in Iraq and Syria would be likely to be first on the hit list, with Tehran then turning its attention to outposts in Arab countries.
Any attempt to strike US military facilities in the Middle East is likely to be less effective than the ballistic missile attack on two US bases in Iraq in January 2020 to avenge the assassination of Qassem Soleimani ordered by Trump at the end of his first term.
Although the attacks on the two American bases caused no fatalities, partly because Iran had issued a warning, 110 servicemen suffered concussions and other brain injuries because of the force of the impact.
So great was the extent of the damage that it may have deterred Trump from retaliating.
Washington also has two hulking aircraft carriers, with a third en route, deployed to the Middle East, which would be considered prime targets for Iranian missiles.
Targets
Israel has proven just how hard ballistic missiles, which are fired up high into the Earth's atmosphere before travelling to the ground at supersonic speeds, can be to intercept, even with what is considered one of the most sophisticated air defence systems in the world.
The US military possesses at least two tried and tested surface-to-air systems capable of intercepting ballistic missiles – Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defence, known as THAAD.
Loading
And they've slowly been redeploying these systems from Asia to the Middle East for months amid mounting tensions between its ally, Israel, and Iran and its Islamist proxies.
America's bases in Iraq – Erbil and Ain al‑Asad air bases – have Patriot batteries positioned, which have been used to fend off militant attacks.
American commanders also ordered Patriots to be removed from South Korea and placed at Isa Air Base, Bahrain, and Al Udeid Air Base in recent months.
Capacity
Of course, mass barrages of ballistic missiles can confuse and overwhelm these systems, as witnessed in both Israel and Ukraine.
US servicemen and women will, however, be quietly confident that the Israel Defence Force has significantly reduced Iran's capacity to launch hundreds of missiles at once.
Iranian salvos have drastically shrunk in size in recent days. What started as 100-projectile blitzes aimed at Israel has been reduced to just dozens of missiles being fired off at any one time.
Iran's production capacity has been significantly eroded, with Israel striking various elements of the supply chain in recent days.
Loading
Fabian Hoffmann, a missile expert, said: 'Iran is heavily constricted in the missile domain.
'The likelihood that Iran can cause a large amount of damage is very, very slim.
'It could also be counterproductive because if you strike American infrastructure, there will be an even greater cost because you risk the Americans getting involved and really getting involved. So I think that's also a huge political consideration.'
Proxies
Iran's network of regional proxies was always considered its first line of defence.
Hezbollah and Hamas were responsible for keeping Israel's military occupied and unable to strike at the Islamic Republic.
The Yemen-based Houthi rebels also distracted the West by targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
Militants armed by Iran have been responsible for deadly attacks on the US base in Iraq, using one-way attack drones.
It's most likely that the Houthi rebels will once again resume targeting American shipping containers travelling through the Red Sea. The militants had briefly paused attacks on American ships after Trump ramped up strikes on the group.
In Iraq, Kataib Hezbollah could likely carry out its threat to 'act directly against its [US] interests and bases across the region'.
But Israel's decimation of these proxy groups – chiefly Hamas and Hezbollah – in the past year is one saving grace that will comfort the Americans.
'The fact that virtually the only missiles and drones that are launched against Israel right now are coming from Iran is striking,' said Dmitri Alperovitch, chair of the Silverado Policy Accelerator think tank in Washington.
Strait of Hormuz
Tucked between the Arabian Peninsula and the Persian Gulf's western flank lies one of Tehran's most powerful weapons against the West.
Nothing hurts a government more than the price of oil, and this narrow stretch of water between Oman and Iran is vital in the global supply.
The Islamic Republic has the means to effectively shut down access to the strait, crippling shipping through the region because there are no alternative routes.
The threat of its closure is perhaps why the USS Nimitz, one of America's largest aircraft carriers, is being moved into the region.
Iran could quite easily close the strait by mining it, repositioning mobile ballistic missile launchers, and using maritime drones.
It employed similar tactics during the so-called Tanker Wars of the 1980s – although it never fully succeeded, largely due to UK Royal Navy and later US Navy efforts to escort commercial vessels through the Gulf.
This, US officials fear, would keep American naval warships in the Persian Gulf.
'Mine clearance is one of the US Navy's few weaknesses,' Tom Sharpe, a former Royal Navy officer, wrote in The Telegraph this week.
For Tehran, closing the strait is one of the most likely ways of bringing the US into the conflict.
Trump was happy to expend billions of dollars in strikes against Houthi rebels, the Iranian-backed militia, when they attempted to snarl up Western shipping through the Red Sea.
The US president is acutely aware of global oil prices, and with a fifth of global petroleum shipped through Hormuz, any blockages would be likely to lead to him sanctioning some strikes to restore shipping.
The other fact that makes this option particularly nuclear for Tehran is that China, the largest buyer of Iranian oil, uses the strait for shipping its purchases.
This hasn't stopped Iran from meddling with shipping through GPS navigation interference.
Two tankers collided and caught fire on the narrow stretch of water after allegedly being impacted by the disruption.
US officials have claimed the GPS meddling originated from the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, located just north of the strait.
Some analysts believe Iran is unlikely to carry out such threats, fearing it would provoke Arab states into the conflict and complete Tehran's global isolation.
Oil fields
If the Iranian regime believed it faced an existential crisis or the irreversible destruction of its nuclear program, it could play what analysts describe as its 'last big card' by also attacking energy infrastructure in the Gulf.
The world got a glimpse of what could be to come in 2019 when drone and missile strikes hit the Abqaiq and Khurais oil facilities in eastern Saudi Arabia. Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed responsibility – but both the US and Saudi governments accused Iran of orchestrating the attacks.
Loading
The attacks temporarily knocked out half of Saudi Arabia's oil production, triggering a sharp spike in global energy prices.
Abqaiq, which processes 7 million barrels of crude a day – more than two-thirds of Saudi Arabia's production capacity – would almost certainly be a prime target if Iran followed through on its threats.
Other potential targets include oil and LNG terminals in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as well as oil tankers moving through the region's waters. In May 2019, limpet mines damaged three tankers and a bunkering ship off the coast of Fujairah in the UAE. No one claimed responsibility, but Western officials suspected Iranian frogmen were behind the attacks.
Cyber
Over the years, Iran and its regional proxies have claimed responsibility for numerous cyberattacks against Israel.
They include destroying data, phishing campaigns and information operations.
Given the threat poses a danger to both civilian and military worlds, the US government has been appealing for information on Iranian hackers responsible for targeting critical infrastructure.
A $US10 million ($15.5 million) reward was posted for details on a group, known as CyberAv3ngers, who US officials have linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Trump has been played like a political yo-yo by Putin
As the saying goes, every picture tells a story. And so it is with the tragicomedy being conveyed in the image of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin following their joint press conference in Alaska (' Europe on edge as Trump risks his biggest Taco moment ', August 17) as Putin beams a sly grin while Trump's face is drawn down, along with his shrunken stature. Perhaps it ould have been smarter for Trump to follow his own advice from his book The Art of the Deal: ' You can't con people, at least not for long. You can create excitement ... do a wonderful promotion and get all kinds of press ... But if you don't deliver the goods, people will eventually catch on.' It's as if he could see that gold medallion slipping from his clutches, while all the while the world has known that it takes more than pageantry to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Mary Carde, Parrearra (Qld) If ever there was a sign that Putin was not open to compromise in any meaningful way, it was signalled by his statement at the Alaska news conference that the next meeting 'should take place in Moscow' (' Putin came in from the cold, Trump flew out empty-handed ', August 17). Clearly, if Putin had any real intention of giving in to Volodomyr Zelensky and Europe's demands in order to accomplish peace, he would not want to do that in front of his own countrymen. Quite the opposite. He will hold firm and try to extract his key demands with a minimum of concessions. So, don't hold your breath over the next talks, regardless of the venue. Larry Woldenberg, Forest Lodge What a nauseating display of pseudo-affection between the self-appointed Emperor of Alaska and Vlad the Impaler. Even as they smiled and nodded at each other, bombs were being dropped on Ukraine. Actions speaking much louder than words. With no deal, no ceasefire and no path to peace, Trump was trumped and humiliatingly revealed to be an emperor with no clothes. Lyn Savage, Coogee Trump threw the dice in Alaska and came up snake eyes. All his vaunted negotiation skills came to nothing against a Putin determined not to lose the advantage he has gained. The emperor paid court to a war criminal and lost his clothes in the process. Ian Adair, Hunters Hill When will Trump supporters finally get it through their skulls that their presidential 'dealmaker' has been played like a political yo-yo by Putin and that other troublesome leader, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu? Eric Palm, Gympie (Qld) The meeting reminded me of the organ grinder and his monkey. It is pretty obvious who was the organ grinder and who was the monkey. Ross Hudson, Mount Martha (Vic) Someone needs to tell Trump that brown-nosing Vladimir Putin does nothing to make America great again. Genevieve Milton, Dulwich Hill Blackmail by F-35 Peter Hartcher says 'Australia has to find a way to preserve as much of the US alliance as possible' supporting this with statements such as 'Without the latest software updates ... Australia's fleet of F-35 fighter jets is useless' ('To US eyes, Australia's blooming', August 16). If he's seriously suggesting that we won't be provided with the necessary software updates unless we maintain our alliance with the US, it's surprising that countries such as Singapore and the United Arab Emirates, who aren't allied to the US, have also purchased F-35s. John Moratelli, Castlecrag Peter Hartcher's report quotes Sussan Ley as critical of the federal government's national preparedness and resilience, asking the prime minister 'do we have enough stored fuel in the event that supply lines are cut?'. That's a bit rich, seeing as she was a cabinet member when the Morrison government made the inexplicable decision in 2020 to house the stockpile of Australian emergency crude oil in the US. Edward Grieve, Woolloomooloo Hartcher quotes one of the Australian American Leadership Dialogue delegates as saying 'What's unspoken is the impact on our identity as Americans.' Gandhi once said: 'If there is an idiot in power, it means those who elected him are well represented.' Salle-Ann Ehms, Glebe Sick system As a practising GP for over 40 years, I take issue with the 'medical misogyny' many women have complained about when in fact it is simply the poor health outcomes of 'six-minute medicine' – a direct consequence of our bulk-billed Medicare system (' Gaslit, dismissed and treated as hypochondriacs: The gender divide in iron deficiency ', August 16). A medical student would fail their exams for missing these blatant cases of severe anaemia on clinical examination alone. Simple blood tests could have provided solutions. In a longer consultation, a doctor could explore this issue with their patient (male or female), and through correlating symptoms with a thorough history and examination, come to a proper diagnosis. Nowhere in the article was there any suggestion that women (and men) should be encouraged to eat more iron-containing foods (such as red meat), which are infinitely better than supplements. Far from being benign, iron infusions (particularly in malnourished patients) can lead to low levels of phosphate, a mineral essential for energy production, which can be life-threatening. Rather than playing the gender card, I believe the health of all Australians would be better served by recognising the problem for what it is. Leanne Barron, Bowen Hills (Qld) I had similar problems with getting bone density treatments. Despite having a series of broken bones and a bad family history, both were dismissed by the GP as irrelevant. I had to metaphorically beat them over the head to get a referral to a bone density specialist. When I got there, the first comment from the specialist was 'with that family history, you should have been here years ago before you had any breaks'. GPs are clearly not on the same page as the specialists. Susan Duffy, Thornleigh Left in the lurch Reading the article about Munjed Al Muderis was reliving my own story (' Disgraced surgeon's battles with patients revealed ', August 16). A different surgeon but a similar scenario. There was no informed consent obtained. A catastrophic accident occurred during hip surgery that so severely damaged the nerves to my left leg that I had no function. After a very brief bedside visit to survey the damage, the surgeon disappeared, never to be seen or heard of again. No responsibility, no aftercare, no way forward. Two years on and I still cannot walk. How many others are out there permanently disabled and abandoned by their surgeon when things went wrong? Anna Cooper, Como Hamas doesn't fool us There's no need to fret over Hamas's reaction to the decision of Australia and other countries to recognise the state of Palestine (Letters, August 16). This is pure self-serving rhetoric and media bait. We Herald correspondents, who are masters of the art of rhetorical ornamentation, should not be sucked in. Meredith Williams, Baulkham Hills Which terrorist group considers Australia to be an ally, Diane Armstrong (Letters, August 16), Hamas or the ultra-right wing Israeli cabinet? Ian Falconer, Turramurra The fact that many countries are supporting a separate Palestine state is not a reward for terrorist group Hamas, but a direct response to the ruthless and total war conducted by Israel against the people of Gaza. Norm Young, Cooranbong Politics puts summit at risk The whole point of releasing productivity proposals before the summit is to allow people time to think about the ideas (' Chalmers hits back at critics talking down economic talkfest before it has even begun ', August 16). After weighing up the merits and consequences, the ideas might well be rejected. But they shouldn't be 'ruled out' based on ideology or politics. Unfortunately, many (including the PM) want to do just that. They can't resist it. There is concern that it will just become a 'talkfest'. If people insist on playing this game, there won't be anything left to talk about. David Rush, Lawson Bank branches vital It seems naive and cynical for Australian Banking Association chief executive Anna Bligh to suggest banks don't need to keep branches open and hint that actual branches will one day be things of the past (' How bank branches can avoid the same fate as video stores ' August 16). Banks exist to enable monetary functions for business, communities and individuals. Without government and community funds, they would not exist, so bending low to serve us humble folk should not be beneath them. Every business day, my nearest branch has queues waiting for teller attention and people having private appointments. While some expert might insist that I could negotiate a term deposit remotely, I would not appreciate loaning a bank my money without dealing with an actual person. Courtesy and security are involved. Banks that offer services for business and investment, especially in regional centres, will get community custom. Those that close their branches will not. Susan Webb, Valentine Sowing division Identity politics is divisive. It is a flawed ideology. It divides Australians (' It's time to stop looking at identity politics as a weakness ', August 16). It focuses on our differences rather than our similarities and uses religion, race, gender, sexual orientation or ethnicity to foster conflict and discord in our society. Its function is trying to convince minority groups that they are oppressed. Black, brown and grey is good. White is bad and linked to white privilege. Female and trans is good. Male is bad and is associated with toxic masculinity. Australia is a fully functioning society where so many other nationalities want to live. We have a welfare system second to none. We should be a country where the harder you work, the better off you are. Dividing Australians into identity categories is just plain wrong. Riley Brown, Bondi Beach Grant permanency now The Fast Track Assessment Process was abolished by the present government because it was flawed and unfair. About 8000 asylum seekers who have lived in Australia for 12 or 13 years are still in limbo due to succeeding governments' failure to resolve this. The Department of Home Affairs says people with new, credible claims may seek ministerial intervention in their asylum applications. This is a slow, drip-feed process, and applicants risk losing work rights during the interim. Not all Fast Track victims even have work and study rights. As Alex Hawke, a former Coalition immigration minister, recently said, these people are here to stay. They have been contributing to our society for 13 years and it is now easier to resolve this issue than in the past. It's time to give permanent visas to 8000 people who have lived and worked in our communities for so long, all the while in trepidation that their temporary visas could be cancelled. Marilyn Lebeter, Smiths Creek Parade unfairly targeted It is interesting that the police and Blacktown Council want to block what is one of Sydney's smaller, quietest and most organised of traditional celebrations (' Annual street parade blocked by police due to crowd, safety fears ', August 17). Why has the Sikh celebration suddenly become an issue after 20 years without a problem? I note that Great North Road is being closed between Queens Road and Lyons Road in Five Dock for a much larger Italian celebration. This is closing a major thoroughfare for about 15 hours. They can close the Harbour Bridge for a demonstration and major eastern suburbs roads for the City to Surf for many hours. Streets around the Lakemba Mosque are closed regularly, causing major disruption. What am I missing? Terry Cook, Ermington 'Annual street parade blocked by police due to crowd, safety fears' seems to point out that objections have been made by Blacktown Council for the annual Sikh procession, which might attract 2000 people next Sunday in Glenmore. But it's OK to shut down major parts of the city for a march, including the Harbour Bridge, at a moment's notice, or for the Catholic Church to shut down part of the city in June, in which an estimated 20,000 people attended a planned religious procession. Surely, this long-running community event should not be sent to the local showground. Or if this is the outcome, which I hope it is not, then street processions of all kinds should be held in parks. One rule for all, no matter who you are. Mark Leary, Woolloomooloo Ride-shares for elderly I feel for Jennifer McKay, who lost her mother in a car accident (Letters, August 16). I also lost my mother in similar circumstances. It's a horrendous way to lose a loved one who had so much more living left to do. We can use 'the stick' and regulate older people out of the driver's seat, but regulation can only do so much. To be effective, we also need 'a carrot' – one that works for those who can't walk far unaided or carry their week's shopping on the bus. Volunteer-operated community ride-share services can replace driving without people losing the sense of independence that a car offers. One, HillsCarPal, has been successfully running in the Sydney Hills District since 2013. It's a model other communities who want to help elderly driver pensioners transition to the passenger seat could consider. John McQuarrie, Kellyville Give gas its due As Herald letter writers consistently point out, there are many negative environmental impacts of Western Australia's export gas industry, but never an acknowledgement that LNG has replaced coal as a fuel and the net effect has been to materially reduce global CO2 emissions. Peter Lane, Margaret River (WA)
West Australian
2 hours ago
- West Australian
Anthony Albanese says Russia should not be rewarded for breaking international law after Trump-Putin meeting
Anthony Albanese has reiterated his desire to not let Russia be rewarded for its 'illegal and immoral' invasion of Ukraine, a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin met with US Donald Trump. Mr Trump hosted Mr Putin in Anchorage, Alaska on Friday local time, greeting the Russian leader with a red carpet, military flyover and a joint ride in a presidential limousine. While no final result came from the meeting, Mr Trump described it as a 'great and very successful day' in a post on his social media platform Truth Social. The meeting, which did not include Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has concerned leaders in the West, who worry a deal may be made without Ukraine's input which cedes territory to Russia. Speaking in Perth, Mr Albanese said he wanted to see a ceasefire. 'Well, I've seen the outcome, as have, I think people around the world who were watching,' he said. 'We want to see a ceasefire. We want to see the sovereignty of Ukraine protected. It is a good thing that President Trump is an advocate for peace. While the lavish optics of a red carpet and a military flyover turned heads of the allies of Ukraine, Mr Albanese said it was up to the Trump administration and that Russia should not be allowed to set a precedent on gaining land through invasion. 'That's a matter for President Trump and the US administration. It's a good thing that people have dialogue,' he said. 'What we want to see is a ceasefire. What we want to see is an end to the illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine, a sovereign state, because it's important as well for the international rule of law. 'It's also important because of the precedent that Russia's invasion sets of a powerful nation invading a much smaller nation and engaging in the brutality which we have seen at great cost to the Ukrainian people, but also at a great cost to Russian soldiers who've lost their lives as well.'
SBS Australia
2 hours ago
- SBS Australia
Evening News Bulletin 17 August 2025
More than 340 killed in flooding in northern Pakistan... The Prime Minister says the meeting between Trump and Putin was a good thing but a ceasefire must be reached... Brisbane Broncos close in on the finals after beating the Dolphins... At least 340 people have have been killed in northern Pakistan after torrential rains and cloudbursts caused flash flooding. The deluge hit the remote mountainous region, with cloud bursts, flash floods, lightning strikes and landslides in the deadliest downpour of this year's monsoon season. Parts of neighbouring India and Nepal have also been hit hard by heavy rains, flooding and other rain-related incidents over the past week. Official expect the death toll to rise as search operations in the most severely hit regions continues. One of the emergency staff, Shahnawaz Khan, says it's been an incredibly difficult recovery job given the poor conditions. "We rescued as many people as we could. The speed of the flash floods then increased and then rescue teams started their operations and with the help of locals we rescued people." Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says dialogue between the US and Russian presidents was 'a good thing', but warns Russia's invasion should not be rewarded. Speaking to ABC, Coalition M-P Tim Wilson has reaffirmed the coalition's view that any sort of ceasefire negotiation needs to involve Kyiv, after U-S President Donald Trump met in Alaska with Russia's Vladimir Putin. Ukraine and its European allies have criticised the meeting as a way to buy time and press Russia's battlefield advances. Mr Albanese says Australians want to see a ceasefire. "It's a good thing that people have dialogue. What we want to see is a ceasefire. What we want to see is an end to the illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine, a sovereign state, because it's important as well for the international rule of law." Palestinian civil defence authorities say Israeli troops killed at least *40 Palestinian people on Saturday, as the military signals plans to force civilians out of Gaza City. After Israel's security cabinet approved plans to seize and occupy Gaza City, Israeli officials now say they will begin handing out tents and shelter equipment to the estimated 50,000 people living there. Nationals leader David Littleproud says Australia must embrace Artificial Intelligence as it seeks to boost productivity at the upcoming economic reform meeting in Canberra. The Productivity Commission released its fifth and final report ahead of the roundtable after being tasked with looking into economic resilience, clean energy and delivering care. Improving productivity in the care sector is seen as challenging because of the human nature of care. But the commission says A-I can reduce the time spent on reporting, while robots can perform routine tasks such as vitals monitoring and logistics. Mr Littleproud told Nine's Today Show that now that A-I is here, the technology must be seen as an opportunity for growth. "If we embrace this technology, yes, we should have safeguards and parameters around it, but there will be productivity gains. And what that does is means that those people whose jobs are impacted will go into other parts of the economy that will grow and create productivity for us. So, I think it's important we have the parameters, but not at any cost, because business and government can't afford that. We've got to appreciate it's here" Paleontologists have identified a rare, entirely new species after the chance discovery of a 25 million-year-old fossil on an Australian beach. Now officially named, Janjucetus dullardi the species was named by researchers after an amateur fossil hunter, Ross Dullard, who discovered the skull while fossil hunting at Jan Juc Beach in Victoria. Researchers say findings like these can unlock insights into how prehistoric whales ate, moved, behaved, and evolved. Erich Fitzgerald is a Senior Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology at Museum Victoria's Research Institute. He says the species is unlike any whales we see today. " It was, let's say, deceptively cute, Janjucetus dullardi and its kin. It might have looked for all the world like some kind, weird kind of mash up between a whale, a seal, and a Pokémon, but they were very much their own thing. And when they were alive, they were successful and diverse species." In NRL, the Brisbane Broncos are closing in on the finals, after beating rival Queensland team the Dolphins overnight The side beat the Dolphins 38 to 28, moving just win away from a top four spot in the league. The Redcliffe Peninsula-based Dolphins are now in ninth place and will have a tough fight to claw their way back to finals contention. Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf says he is disappointed by the result. "We put ourselves in a position where we probably could have won the game and that is why it becomes disappointing. But as I said at the start, I am very happy with the effort. I thought we turned up and a lot people didn't give us a chance before tonight, but we gave ourselves a chance."
