Greece has moved a Patriot air defense battery to Crete following threats by senior Iranian officials against US bases in Europe, Greek newspaper Kathimerini reported on Sunday.
The battery, personnel and equptment were moved overnight and are expected to be deployed near the Souda military base. Greece’s Defense Ministry and armed forces remain on heightened alert as officials assess the potential threat to critical infrastructure and military facilities as tensions rise with Iran, Kathimerini added.
The report explained that allied intelligence was concerned that Iran still has a significant number of ballistic missiles, with a reported range of over 2,000 km which would place parts of southeastern Europe, including Greece, within range.
The Patriot defense system was deployed in March to protect against ballistic missile threats.
Kathimerini added that Athens is in contact with the US and Israel over potential threats to military bases in Greece and Cyprus.
Tehran considering attacking US bases in Europe if conflict escalates
Sources close to the regime in Tehran warned that Iran may attack US military targets in Europe if US President Donald Trump escalated the conflict.
The Financial Times reported that Tehran was seriously examining the options available to it to raise the stakes in the conflict, with many at the top of the regime seeing the renewal of the full-scale military confrontation as only a matter of time
Two sources familiar with the details told the Financial Times that Iranian forces already conducted situational assessments regarding the possibility of attacking American assets in southeastern European countries.
A prominent example of this is Bulgaria, which only last month approved the use of the Bessemer air base for US military refueling aircraft. Another source added that Cyprus, where a British air base was attacked by a drone last March, is also on the list of potential targets for retaliatory action in the event of a renewed American attack