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By Brendan Cole
Senior Reporter
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New U.S. forces have been deployed to the Middle East as the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel raises the prospect of Tehran retaliating against Washington, which one expert told Newsweek said could include Americans being taken hostage.
Khosro Sayeh Isfahani, a senior research analyst at the National Union for Democracy in Iran, told Newsweek that direct U.S. involvement in the hostilities could prompt Tehran to unleash its "Axis of Resistance" militias and Iranian intelligence sleeper cells globally.
The USS Nimitz carrier strike group is heading to the region from the South China Sea the Navy Times reported, citing a U.S. official who said the previously planned move had been expedited due to growing tensions.
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The U.S. said Israel was acting unilaterally with last week's surprise attack on Iran's military and nuclear program which prompted Iran to launch more than 370 missiles and hundreds of drones killing at least 24 people in Israel, according to The Associated Press.
Hamidreza Azizi, visiting fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, told Newsweek that Tehran is taking "increasingly seriously" the chances of direct U.S. involvement, after which "all bets would be off."
President Donald Trump has said he wants a "real end" to the conflict, but Iran views his calls for ending the war as a potential deception tactic, heightening alarm over the chances of military intervention, Azizi said.
Newsweek takes a look at three possible scenarios of direct U.S. involvement.
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Strikes on US Assets
Israel has said it has full aerial superiority over Tehran and had destroyed more than 120 surface-to-surface missile launchers in central Iran, a third of its total arsenal.
This Israeli dominance over Iranian airspace and continued strikes on missile launchpads and launchers have stopped Iran from responding with the intensity it wanted to, Azizi said. But Tehran is also making the strategic calculation to conserve enough of its missile arsenal in case of direct U.S. involvement so it is ready for an expanded war.
The U.S. operates military sites across at least 19 locations in the Middle East, of which eight are permanent bases located across Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, hosting between 40,000 and 50,000 personnel.
So far, Tehran seems to have made a deliberate effort to refrain from attacking U.S. forces or bases, said Azizi, with limited drone strikes on some bases in Iraq which are "more of a warning than an actual engagement."
But the U.S. entering the conflict directly would be seen not just as a threat to the Iranian regime, but to the Iranian state, due to the potential for massive damage to critical infrastructure.
"We could then expect a range of retaliatory actions, from attacks on U.S. bases across the region to broader efforts to disrupt oil production and transportation, including—but not limited to—the Strait of Hormuz," said Azizi.
The Strait links the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean and beyond, as well as the vital shipping route through the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean and Europe
"Other forms of disruptive operations could also be initiated, as this would be perceived as an existential fight for the system," he added.
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Disrupting the Strait of Hormuz
Esmail Kosari, the head of Iran's parliamentary committee on defense and national security, said closing the Strait of Hormuz between Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman through which around one fifth of the world's oil transits, is under serious consideration, according to Iranian state media.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported on Monday that there was increasing electronic interference within the Gulf and the Strait which impacted vessels' positional reporting through automated systems (AIS).
Jakob Larsen, chief safety and security officer for Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO), a shipping association headquartered in Denmark, told Newsweek the conflict has caused concerns in the shipowning community.
U.S. authorities had reported that as of Monday, there were no indications of a threat from Iran toward commercial ships other than vessels with links to Israel. But if pressure on Iran continues to mount and the U.S. became more directly involved, Iran might expand its threats toward ships that did not have ties to Israel, Larsen said Tuesday.
"Iranian forces are highly skilled in asymmetric warfare and have prepared for decades for a scenario involving attacks against shipping through the Straits of Hormuz and adjacent waters," he said.
"Iran can start attacking shipping with almost no notice and certainly faster than the time it takes to sail a ship through the Straits of Hormuz," Larsen added.
Aurélien Colson, academic co-director of the ESSEC Institute for Geopolitics & Business, told Newsweek a critical link is the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
This is a gateway to the Red Sea and Suez—between Djibouti in Africa and Yemen and only around 15 miles wide at its narrowest point—where Iran-controlled Houthis could redouble their missile attacks against commercial maritime traffic, with substantial consequences on supply chains.
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Unleashing 'Axis of Resistance'
Isfahani said so far Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had avoided directly mentioning the U.S. because he is still hoping "to dupe Washington with false diplomacy."
But he told Newsweek that if push comes to shove, the Iranian regime will unleash a multi-pronged attack which would include launching missile and drone strikes against U.S. targets in the region.
Tehran will also unleash its "Axis of Resistance" militias in the region, as well as its Ministry of Intelligence and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps sleeper cells "to conduct terror attacks and take Americans hostage."
"Elements of the Axis might engage in drone and missile strikes against U.S. bases in the region as well," he added.
Lara Tandy, associate director at geopolitical and cyber risk consultancy S-RM, told Newsweek hostilities could end the U.S.-Houthi ceasefire agreed in May and Iran could leverage its network of Houthis in the region to attack ships and vessels crossing the Red Sea and Bab-el-Mandeb Strait.
Based on recent behavior, Iran could also target U.S. bases, forces, and embassies across the Middle East, which would be something Trump may interpret as a proxy for direct confrontation, Tandy added.
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