JPost/NYT: Iran Could Fire “Hundreds of Missiles a Day” if War Renews
Hamidreza Azizi of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs said in an interview yesterday that if hostilities resume, Iran may fire “tens or hundreds of missiles per day” at Israel and the United States to “effectively confront the enemy and also change the calculation on the other side”, the Jerusalem Post reported this morning. Azizi assessed that Iranian leaders are now planning for a “short but high intensity” war — in contrast to the February-onset campaign in which they rationed missiles for several weeks — and would deliberately target Gulf oil fields, refineries and ports to drag the Gulf states into a war they have explicitly sought to avoid.
Azizi separately assessed that Iran could leverage the Bab al-Mandab Strait, via the Houthis, to force the United States to focus on two maritime fronts simultaneously. The Bab al-Mandab connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean and is already considered a significant vulnerability. The JPost cited Yemen expert Inbal Nissim-Louvton, who has previously argued that fears of Houthi disruption of the Bab al-Mandab have likely led Gulf nations to “absorb Iranian attacks without responding in kind”. Trump’s Truth Social post said “there seems to be a very good chance that they can work something out. If we can do that without bombing the hell out of them, I would be very happy” — but added the US military stands ready for a “full, large-scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice” if a deal is not reached.