Iran had seized control of much of the Middle East in the last five years. When the rest of the world evicted Iran from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, or SWIFT, in 2012, it had a devastating effect on the country. Without the use of SWIFT, Iran could no longer move money across its borders electronically. All of the oil in Iran just sat there. If Iran wanted to sell its oil to the rest of the world, the only way it could be done was by moving billions of dollars of physical cash across the border. No other country was foolish enough to make such a transaction in this fashion, so the obvious choice for Iran would be to give in to the demands of the rest of the world and end its nuclear program.
Iran shocked the world when it did not give in to the threat, but instead doubled the efforts of its nuclear program. The Iranians successfully smuggled their oil to sympathetic countries and at great cost, were able to sell enough oil to keep the country running.
In late 2015, Iran again shocked the world when it successfully detonated a nuclear device in the Indian Ocean. Terrified of Iran, the West knew that war was inevitable. Over the next two years, with the protection of a nuclear stalemate, Iran successfully infiltrated the provisional government in Iraq and quickly overthrew it. Invading their neighbor was not necessary when their government was so weak. They simply moved into Baghdad, set up shop, and absorbed the vast resources that Iraq had to offer.
Iran had even managed to conquer its most hated enemy, the nation of Israel. Not satisfied with Israel’s status of nuclear ambiguity, Iran was determined to find out the nuclear secrets of its potential threat. Iran sent spies deep into Israel to find out what cards they were holding. When the Soviet Union fell, many Soviet Jews in the Soviet nuclear program immigrated back to Israel. Speculation ran rampant that Israel had been building an arsenal during the 1990s. No one could say with certainty if Israel had five nukes or five hundred. Israel enjoyed the mysterious threat they had constructed; Iran was determined to expose the mystery. Israel did not have five hundred nukes. They didn’t have five. They had one working warhead and the scattered parts to maybe build another. The spies stole the warhead and proudly returned it to Iran. Not satisfied until every stone was unturned, the spies were sent back to confirm their findings. A year later they returned and could say with certainty that Israel was not a threat. Israel had disassembled its warheads and sold them on the black market to aid its failing economy.
When Iranian forces crossed the border into Iraq, the world again looked to the United States for salvation. With his country in the Second Great Depression, President Powers decided to sit this one out and let somebody else step up for a change. The European Union was not happy with its most valued ally. Many countries in Europe severed diplomatic relations with the United States and publicly branded the president a coward. With the insults pouring in and public outcry from his own citizens, President Powers still managed to send billions of dollars to aid the war effort. For the first time in its history, the European Union consolidated all of its armies into one fighting force to combat the growing threat of Iran.
Iran was not impressed or intimidated by the European Army. Iran held the nation of Israel as a nuclear hostage and kept the European Army at bay. They also had managed to carry out something before thought impossible. They unified the Middle East and amassed a formidable army of Muslim warriors. The only thing the European Army could manage to accomplish facing the superior force was to protect its own borders from invasion. Having already gained control of Iraq, Iran surveyed the rest of the Middle East with very lofty goals of expansion. For the first time in the history of the world, Iran could boast that they managed to topple the nation of Afghanistan. The Soviet Union and the United States had both tried and failed. Celebrating themselves as liberators, the Americans claimed that they never had intentions of conquering the Afghan people. Considering it the excuse of losers, Iran laughed at the claim. After Afghanistan came Pakistan and then the western borders of India. Considering India too costly a challenge, Iran settled in and joined ranks with China and the United States as a superpower. The Great Empire of Iran signed a treaty with the European Union, promising to leave the Union’s border alone in exchange for maintaining control of all conquered territories. The Europeans had little choice but to agree.
Controlling a very large share of the world’s oil, Iran refused to export any of it to the United States. This move only sank the United States deeper into the Second Great Depression with gas prices soaring above ten dollars a gallon. The American people complained constantly about the outrageous cost, but were willing to pay it if it meant they didn’t have to send their sons and daughters to be killed in the Middle East
The Great Empire of Iran could not sit still for very long and began to look to Saudi Arabia and Egypt as ripe for the picking. This was reminiscent of the Nazis who had the right idea when it came to conquest; they just lacked the resources that the Empire had at its disposal. When Iran began to move its vast Army of devout Muslim warriors along the border of Saudi Arabia in clear violation of its own treaty, President Powers had little choice but to join Europe to stop the invading army. The European and American militaries joined to become the Allied Forces.
For two years the Iranians fought for control of Saudi Arabia but the Allied Forces kept them at bay. The Iranian Army won control of the crucial Port of Gibraltar, gateway to the Mediterranean Sea, early in the war and defended it at all costs. The Allied Forces knew that to win the war, they would have to get their ships into the Mediterranean and move with all due haste to the shores of Tel Aviv, ready to strike at the heart of the Empire. The Fifth Fleet was positioned in the middle of the Indian Ocean waiting for this to happen, ready to move into the Persian Gulf to flank the Empire from both sides, no doubt ending the war.
The Roosevelt Strike Group and one of her vessels, the USS James Russell, launched an all-out attack on the Port of Gibraltar. After two days of intense naval battle, the likes of which had not seen since the Second World War, the James Russell managed to gain control of the port and awaited orders. After deliberating with the Joint Chiefs and Director Jimenez, the president was confident that Iran was only bluffing about Israel and would not destroy the only leverage that kept the rest of the world from directly attacking them.
He gave the orders and the USS James Russell and what was left of the Strike Group entered the Mediterranean. Twelve hours into its journey, Iran called the bluff and detonated a low-yield nuclear bomb just outside Tel-Aviv. The bomb didn’t level the city, but served as a warning shot to show the Allied Forces that they were not bluffing. The Empire gloated that the device had been detonated on its previous owner.
The president ordered the James Russell and its Strike Group to remain on station until they could figure out their next move. They hoped that stopping its advance would satisfy the Empire and prevent any more destruction. The Iranian fleet, already underway in an attempt to retake Gibraltar, met up with the Allied fleet to prevent them traveling any closer to the Empire. The standoff lasted for thirty-six hours until the Iranians began to fire shots over the fleet in an attempt to either intimidate them into turning around or taunt them into engaging in battle. The USS James Russell returned fire, sinking one of the Iranian vessels. The vessel sank the enemy ship not realizing that an Iranian submarine had the drop on them. A torpedo was fired on the James Russell, crippling her. The Strike Group, not realizing that the Iranians had submarines in the area, had little choice but to retreat and escorted the crippled vessel back to the Port of Gibraltar. With a foothold to the Mediterranean Sea, the Allied Forces finally had the upper hand and were within striking distance to end the war.