Iran threatens missile attacks, hoping Trump sees strength not weakness

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Iran’s missile program was born of weakness in the early years of the Islamic Republic. Now the question is whether it is formidable enough to head off a military confrontation with President Trump.

Tehran unleashed a barrage of around 500 missiles that struck civilian and military locations in Israel last June but did little strategic damage. Though Israel pounded Iran’s missile launchers and storage sites during a 12-day war in June, the regime emerged from the bruising conflict with much of its remaining arsenal intact. More important, Iran learned how to get more of its missiles past Israeli and American defenses as the war went on.

It is threatening to fire them again on a broader set of targets around the region if Trump orders an attack. That has raised the pressure on the White House, forcing it to worry about Iran’s ability to target Israel and U.S. forces, as well as friendly Arab countries in the Persian Gulf and the wider region.

Tehran still has an estimated 2,000 midrange ballistic missiles that can reach across the region, The Wall Street Journal has previously reported. It also has significant stockpiles of short-range missiles capable of reaching U.S. bases in the Gulf and ships in the Strait of Hormuz, as well as antiship cruise missiles.

“In the absence of any meaningful air force and air defenses and with decimated allies and nuclear capabilities, Iran’s ballistic missiles now constitute the backbone of Iran’s deterrence," said Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of the Iran Program, at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “They are like a Swiss Army knife for the regime—for coercion, defense and punishment all at once." U.S. military leaders are taking the