Khanalizadeh is trying to frighten Trump and U.S. officials with this threat. “Make ready for them all that you can of force and of warhorses, so that by them you may strike terror in the enemy of Allah and your enemy…” (Qur’an 8:60)
“Iranian International Relations Expert Mahdi Khanalizadeh Shows Map Of U.S. Bases In The Region, Threatening Houthi Attack By $200 Rockets, Adds: The Attack On Aramco Forced The Saudis To Surrender,” MEMRI, March 19, 2025:
Iranian international relations expert Mahdi Khanalizadeh stated on Channel 3 TV (Iran) on March 19, 2025, that the U.S. maintains military bases in the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, highlighting their proximity to Yemen. He noted that Yemen can launch attacks on “occupied territories,” referring to Israel, from a distance of 2,000 km, and questioned what would happen if a $200 rocket were aimed at an American base in the region. Khanalizadeh emphasized that the attack on Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s largest oil production facility, had forced Saudi Arabia to negotiate a truce with the Houthis in Yemen and “surrender.” He also warned that a targeted U.S. attack on Iran would lead to peculiar repercussions, making such an action untenable.
Mahdi Khanalizadeh: “The United States has a lot of military bases in West Asia. It has bases in the UAE and Qatar…”
Interviewer: “As you can see on the map.”
Khanalizadeh: “The Al-Udaid base is especially important. It is the biggest airbase. [The U.S. has bases] in Saudi Arabia and in Turkey… Forget about us. Two hours ago, Yemen attacked the occupied territories, from a distance of 2,000 km. We will watch the footage shortly. Think about the distance between Yemen and the American bases… What happens if a rocket that costs $200 lands in one of these American bases? Will they be able to defend against it?”
Interviewer: “[The rocket] would inflict billions of dollars in damages on the Americans.”
Khanalizadeh: “We are only talking about the bases within reach. Remember what happened when the Ain-Al Asad base was hit…
[…]
“What forced the Saudis to accept a truce [with Houthis], despite all the money they had spent on building the coalition? The [attack on] Aramco, the biggest Saudi oil production facility…
[…]
“The Saudi energy minister said: ‘It was the darkest day of my life – watching half of my country’s capital go up in smoke.’ This is what made them surrender.
[…]
“If and in case that… As I’ve said, there is a 50% chance that Trump is bluffing, and a 20% chance that they are incapable of doing this. So there is a 30% chance that he entertains the idea in his head to attack Iran with targeted strikes, there would be painfully strange repercussions, and this makes this matter impossible. The days of hit and run are over.”
Kosh's Shadow says
iran is like the black knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Israel has chopped off its arms but it is still threatening.
Tony Rice says
The curent Iranian government have ideas above their capabilities
Cynthia says
Time to hit them while their capabilities are low. Waiting gives them time to go nuclear.
Negotiations are a losing game as they always lie and delay.
Westman says
Anyone noticed that none of these Iranian loudmouths are scientists or engineers? We heard the same kind of rhetoric from Saddam’s minions, after their 8-years war with Iran, about how great were their capabilities.
The truth is in the results. Would Iran’s tech community tell a hanging-judge administration what it wants to hear and that would lead to disaster? I keep hearing the word “Nakba” as in Nakba1,2,3,4…
Did the US actually firebomb some of Europe and nuke Japan? They wouldn’t do something like that again? Germany, an avowed pacifist nation with the avoidance of war in their constitution, actually sent missiles, tanks, and war materials to Ukraine? You can’t count on anything now, can you, Mahdi?
Taffy says
Google “Operation Praying Mantis” to see what the US under Regan did to the Iranians, after the Iranians mined the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, and a US Navy ship escorting a Kuwaiti tanker hit a mine.
skeptiker says
Allah hat andere Pläne mit den Muslimen. Ich glaube, er mag sie nicht, weil sie so dumm sind.
Keys says
Ya, Allah, the greatest of all deceivers, is lying to Muslims. Allah is deceit.
OLD GUY says
If these muslim/Arab countries where we pay to have military bases restrict military operations we should pull out of their countries and let them defend themselves. They shouldn’t have it both ways.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Somehow, threats are the worst thing to use on Trump. Khanalizadeh should learn from the likes of Qatar and Turkey, who know how to flatter their way into his good graces