How Australian spy base could play role in US strike on Iran
Updated . First published at
A top-secret Australian spy base could be involved in a potential US military strike on Iran.
US President Donald Trump has warned Iranian leaders "time is running out" in talks to reach a deal on the country's controversial nuclear programme.
The Pentagon has been building up forces in the Middle East, with Trump declaring a major American naval force, which he described as a "massive armada", was steaming towards Iran.
READ MORE: Trump threatens Iran with 'armada' attack
The US-Australian signals surveillance base of Pine Gap in the Northern Territory. Getty
Officials in Tehran said the country's military was prepared to "immediately and powerfully respond" to any US strikes.
Defence expert Malcolm Davis, from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, says Pine Gap, a joint US-Australian signals surveillance facility, was likely to be involved if Iran hit back.
"Pine Gap's role involves missile early warning ... so if Iran responded by launching missiles against US forces, they would initially be detected by American satellites and relayed there," he said.
The base, about 20km south-west of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, could also be involved in planning potential US military operations.
Pine Gap is just a small component of the massive US military arsenal that Trump could bring to bear against Iran.
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The Iranian military is equipped with missiles such as this one launched from naval ships. (Masoud Nazari Mehrabi/Iranian Army via AP) AP
Other assets being deployed to the Middle East include the USS Abraham Lincoln and several guided-missile destroyers, which can be used to launch attacks from the sea, into the region.
The US can deploy warplanes from air bases in the Middle East, including Qatar's vast Al Udeid Air Base, which serves as the forward operating headquarters of the US military's Central Command.
Davis says Iran's lack of a modern and effective air force makes the country "pretty much wide open to attack".
"It could hit back by striking at (US ally) Israel or US bases in the Middle East... but that would risk drawing Israel in and inviting more attacks."
The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier and a US Air Force B-52H Stratofortress, conduct joint exercises in the US Central Command area of responsibility in Arabian Sea June 1, 2019. Brian M Wilbur/US Navy via AP, File
It remains unclear what Trump will decide about using force, though he laid down two red lines – the killing of peaceful demonstrators and the possible mass execution of detainees.
The protests saw at least 6221 people killed as Iran launched a bloody crackdown on the demonstrations, with many others feared dead, activists said on Wednesday.
- with Associated Press
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