Iran threatens to attack US targets in Europe if Trump escalates war, says report

NewsWorldMiddle EastIran threatens to attack US targets in Europe if Trump escalates war, says reportData shows that traffic through the shipping route remains at a standstill despite Trump saying it is open for businessMaira Butt Wednesday 19 August 2026 10:27 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"b3034956","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iran-attack-europe-trump-escalation-b3034956.html","title":"Iran threatens to attack US targets in Europe if Trump escalates war, says report"}}CloseTrump casts doubt on Iran deal, says Tehran ‘cannot have a nuclear weapon’On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly international news dispatchEmail*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice{"className":"sc-1ge0fwe-0","newsletterData":{"pianoFieldName":"receiveOnTheGround","regTitle":"On The Ground","subscriptionGroup":"on_the_ground","subscriptionGroupId":"14806361-6435-4d19-b06e-05326605fb01","pathPrefix":["/news/world/europe","/news/world/middle-east","/news/world/australasia","/news/world/africa","/asia"],"associatedAuthors":["Bel Trew","Sam Kiley"],"title":"On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents","mobileTitle":"Get a weekly international news dispatch","lengthenedMobileTitle":"Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents","imageSrc":"https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/images/newsletters/onTheGround1_1.png","newsletterKey":"receiveOnTheGround","regSourceSection":"Middle East","regSourceNewsletter":"NSC"}}Iran is considering launching attacks on US...