After U.S. strikes against Iran’s nuclear sites, CBC’s David Common breaks down the ways Iran could retaliate despite not having the same conventional military strength as the U.S.

Tehran

The United States has joined Israel in striking nuclear targets in Iran. It follows an escalating broader conflict in the region including the ongoing Gaza war.

Iran Strikes

The United States has conducted strikes on Iran's deeply buried nuclear sites, using powerful ordnance capable of penetrating underground targets. While initial assessments suggest the facilities may have been destroyed, the actual extent of the damage is not yet confirmed, as satellite imagery cannot reveal what has occurred below ground or whether nuclear materials were relocated.

Iran, lacking the conventional military strength to confront the U.S. directly, may consider alternative forms of retaliation. These could include attacks by proxy forces on American assets such as oil tankers, cyberattacks targeting U.S. infrastructure or companies, or even covert operations by sleeper cells. Any Iranian response could risk further escalation, highlighting the challenges of containing conflict once it begins.

How Iran could retaliate against U.S. strikes

Only the American military could have struck halfway around the world on a target buried deep inside a mountain. But it's still too early to know how much these strikes damaged Iran's nuclear program. It was an incredible and overwhelming success. Early images show the impact sites. Six holes where the massive ordnance penetrator bomb entered the earth creating a deep shaft towards the underground target leading to an enormous explosion. Before and after images show how dust and sand now cover the hills and buildings. But even spy satellites cannot show what's happened below ground. In short, we cannot see the level of damage inside those deeply buried nuclear enrichment holes nor can we see if the Iranians had already moved some of that nuclear fuel and associated equipment to other locations. If we believe the initial damage assessments from the administration the facilities have been destroyed and so this is the end of it from the United States point of view and so it's really up to Iran whether they want to keep fighting. While Iran has a large military force it cannot win a conventional battle against the U.S. It may not retaliate but if it does it likely won't be with soldiers like these. The Iranians could use proxies to attack unarmed American-owned oil tankers off their coast in the Strait of Hormuz or through the Persian Gulf even as far away as the Red Sea. Iran also has one of the world's most sophisticated cyber warfare capabilities. They could use that to try to take down some of the U.S. energy grid or to target an American company's website or internal systems. The CIA has also previously warned of Iranian sleeper cells in the U.S. who could embark on a terrorism campaign. Iran has been trying for many many years to come after former senior government officials and other Americans here inside our country. They've actually taken assassination efforts. Anything Iran does could prompt an American retaliation demonstrating just how easy it is for wars to start and how hard it is for them to stop. David Common, CBC News, Toronto.

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How Iran could retaliate against U.S. strikes

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