Iran threatens US bases in Europe as Tehran rejects nuclear concessions and US charges three men over Iran-backed plots

BBC News anchor Ben Thompson opened the update by reporting that Iran's security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, had threatened US military bases in Europe and beyond if America carried out new attacks. According to the report, Rezaei said Iran would strike any base used to launch attacks on Iran, including bases in Europe.

Rezaei also vowed that not even a single particle of enriched nuclear material would be allowed to leave Iran. The report noted that Iran's nuclear material has been a key sticking point in any potential peace talks.

Rezaei told Lebanon-based Al-Mayadin TV that Iran's response to any fresh attacks would target America's most distant military installations, including ones that Iran has not yet attacked. He also threatened strikes on islands that he said are beyond Iran's reach and the reach of its missiles.

At the same time, Rezaei said Iran remained serious about a diplomatic end to the conflict. The report noted that Washington has tapered its recent threats of renewed strikes after Republican defeats in the US midterm elections. President Trump said further attacks were highly unlikely, but that the military was locked and loaded should things change.

BBC Persian's Pam Gabi said that Iran appeared to be trying to extend its strategic depth and reach from the Middle East into Europe. She pointed first to Rezaei's comments, noting that Iran's top security chief had warned Iran would retaliate against US bases anywhere, including in Europe.

Gabi linked these remarks to earlier statements. Days before, Supreme Leader Mojtaba had said Iran's armed forces should not be limited geographically if Iran were attacked. Right after that, an Iranian Revolutionary Guard spokesperson said the 2,000-kilometre cap on Iranian missiles had been removed. Gabi said that cap had been self-imposed during the leadership of Ali Khamenei, so its removal was highly important.

In her reading, these signals show Iran trying to tell the United States and Israel that if attacked, it can target countries beyond the region, including in Europe. She said Iran is doing this to put pressure on Donald Trump to stop the war, for the same reason it has attacked neighbouring countries in the region.

Gabi said that, beyond missile strikes, there were Iran-linked activities in Europe. She cited an attempt to attack the RAF Fairford base, and said France had recently stated that Iran was behind cyber attacks on refrigerators in Europe.

Gabi argued that if these activities were orchestrated by Iran, they show Tehran trying to inflict pain beyond the region, into Europe, to stop the United States and Israel from attacking Iran again.

The International Atomic Energy Agency estimates that Iran had almost 441 kg of 60% enriched uranium before the war, though it is not clear how much remains. Russia had previously offered to remove uranium from Iran as part of a potential deal to ease US concerns about Tehran's nuclear ambitions, and Washington has said nuclear issues must be part of any initial peace negotiations.

Gabi said Iran sees this stockpile as a bargaining chip with the West. She added that Iran is reluctant to give it up easily, asking how it could know the United States and Israel would not attack again if it handed the material over immediately. In its view, it needs guarantees that it will not be attacked before it negotiates nuclear issues.

Iran has criticised a $20 million reward offered by the United States, announced last week, for information on Iran's nuclear programme. Iran called the reward repugnant and regrettable, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urged the UN's atomic energy agency and Security Council to condemn it.

Gabi also said that in recent weeks more voices inside Iran, including officials, have called for developing a nuclear weapon, arguing that Iran has paid the price without having one and has been attacked twice. She said it was not clear whether Iran would do so, but that hardline elements were pushing for it. She noted that Trump has said several times that if Iran had nuclear weapons he would call them out.

Gabi noted an apparent contradiction. Iranian officials pointed out that Trump had repeatedly described Iran's nuclear capabilities as obliterated, yet the US is now offering rewards for information on that program. She said this raised the question of why more information was still being sought if the programme had been obliterated.

She also said that Trump has said several times he might attack Kuh-e Kolang Gaz, known in English as Pickaxe Mountain, in Iran. The United States suspects that some nuclear activities might be going on underneath it.

The US has charged three men whom it claims were behind Iran-backed terrorist plots across Europe and the United States. The Department of Justice said Iranian agents were behind what it called a terrorist plot at an air base in the UK, referring to the incident at RAF Fairford. Iran has strongly denied any involvement. The three men were also accused of being behind a string of arson attacks on Jewish sites in London.

In total, US authorities say the men worked on 18 attacks across Europe, seven of them in the UK, along with an attempt to bomb a synagogue in New York. Our North America correspondent Neta Torphic said the charges included providing material support for terrorism, financing terrorism, arson and bomb plots.

Torphic said some targets among the 18 were Jewish institutions and banks, but that the major incident was in September near the RAF Fairford base. According to the indictment, two of the men were allegedly in Iran at the time of that incident. US prosecutors say the third man, the only one currently in US custody, coordinated with the pair through coded messages from prison in New York and worked to try to get them funding.

The other men allegedly directed and paid associates in the UK to scout the air base and arrange logistics. The Department of Justice said this included procuring vans and fuel and researching the purchase of chemicals and metallic objects that could be used as explosive shrapnel. The vans were disguised as fuel delivery and swimming pool supply businesses. They encountered a roadblock and were then spotted by a local farmer who called police, and the plot was ultimately foiled.

US media reported that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had been moved from his home in Washington DC to a military base for his own safety. Torphic said the exact details of the severity of the threat were not known. She noted that US intelligence has shown Iran is in advanced stages of planning attacks against America, and that an Afghan national reportedly still in Iran was charged in 2024 with trying to kill President Trump.

Torphic said Bessent is the latest Trump administration official to leave home for a military base over safety concerns. A Treasury statement said he would not be deterred by the regime's threats and remains committed to economic measures meant to squeeze Iran.

Senior US Democrats have suggested they will try to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. An effort to remove him, launched by Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, failed to proceed in a 211 to 204 vote on Tuesday. Hegseth was accused of waging war on Iran without congressional authorisation.

The bid to find the cabinet secretary guilty of misconduct and remove him was seen as a long shot, since it could have required multiple other Republicans to defy President Trump. Hegseth called the impeachment effort a farce and a sabotage. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is expected to become the next speaker in January, said it was just the beginning, and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said she hoped fresh articles of impeachment would be brought before the start of the year.

The insurer Allianz Trade estimates the war in Iran could cost Gulf nations nearly $800 billion in economic losses by 2030, and said countries across the region have already suffered more than $200 billion of damage from the conflict. Gulf nations bore the brunt of Iran's retaliatory strikes in response to US and Israeli attacks.

The insurer said energy infrastructure makes up most of the loss, with more than 80 facilities hit, many of them in Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain. The war and ongoing uncertainty have also hit tourism and real estate, which will see slower growth over the years. Allianz Trade says the overall impact equals a drop of nearly 6% of GDP by 2030 compared with before the war.