Days before the US and Israel declared war on Iran, the Iranian military repeatedly warned that if Iran was attacked, it would respond with a strong counterattack and escalate the conflict, with American military bases in the region possibly being targeted. The elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard also conducted naval exercises in the Strait of Hormuz, claiming to be ready to block the strait. Gulf states urged Trump to use diplomatic means rather than war and warned that the conflict could threaten the energy market. However, the US seemed to underestimate the scale of Iran's response. In the past two weeks, Iran has spread the conflict to the oil-rich Gulf region, causing near-stagnation of oil and gas transportation through the Strait of Hormuz, leading to a surge in global energy prices. Hedges said this week: "I can't say we necessarily anticipated their reaction, but we knew it was possible." Former US officials and military experts said that the Iranian military is capable of striking US military bases, energy facilities, and other strategic targets in the Gulf region by combining intelligence information, experience learned from Russia, satellite imagery, and geographical proximity advantages. Iran has already launched more than 3000 missiles and drones at its allies in the Gulf region and hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel. This week, despite US and Israeli officials' belief that Iran's strike capabilities had been severely reduced, Iran still attacked oil tankers and merchant ships, the port of Oman, facilities near Dubai airport, the Abu Dhabi refinery, and Kuwait airport.
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Original: toutiao.com/article/1859617544756299/
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