The Financial Times published an exclusive report on Wednesday (August 19), citing two people familiar with the matter that Iran has considered launching attacks on European military targets if US President Donald Trump escalates the war.

Sources stated that the Iranian military has assessed potential strike plans against US assets in Southeast Europe, including Bulgaria. Last month, Bulgaria approved the use of its Bezmer Air Base for US military refuelling aircraft.

One of the sources said Cyprus has also been listed as a potential retaliatory target. Previously, a British air base in Cyprus was attacked by drones in March, which Iran may regard as a target for retaliation against renewed US offensives.

The report noted that if the conflict escalates further, the Iranian military has separately studied plans to attack submarine fibre-optic cables in the Strait of Hormuz.

One source said Tehran is prepared to expand the war if Trump follows through on threats to attack Iran's infrastructure. Another source stated that Iran will respond to US military actions with "no upper limit".

Sources said last month's attack on a US military base in Jordan, which killed three US service members, marked Tehran's most precise long-range strike to date and demonstrated Iran's capability to hit more distant targets.

The first insider said, "This is also a message to Europe: Europe may also face missile attacks, so it should be clear which side it stands on in this war. If a very serious mistake is made, such as attacking our infrastructure, the war could spread beyond the region to Europe."

Iran has not publicly confirmed these alleged operational plans.

Military analysts told the Financial Times that Iran may use medium-range ballistic missiles to strike US assets in southern and southeastern Europe, yet they questioned the precision of Iran's missiles and whether Tehran possesses a sufficient number of longer-range weapons.

The report added that Iran's recent appointment of hardliners to senior security and military posts has also heightened expectations within Tehran of renewed conflict.

Speaking about Iran's chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Iran's top security official Mohsen Rezaei, the second insider said Iran is "sending a clear message: if you do not reach an agreement with Ghalibaf, you will have to face Rezaei."

"The message is: 'Do not get angry, because I am angrier than you.'"

Meanwhile, negotiations on reopening the Strait of Hormuz remain deadlocked. Trump stated that no talks with Tehran have been scheduled for the time being.