Iranian general: We can extend range of missiles beyond 2,000 km

Iranian General Mohammad Ali Jafari said that while Iran’s missiles are currently sufficient for its needs to threaten the Middle East, it can extend their range if it wants.

Iran’s current missiles have a range of 2,000 kilometers, are capable of striking at the entire Middle East and are therefore sufficient to fulfill the country’s purposes, but Iran has the capability to extend the range of its long-range missiles, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari said.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Tehran on Tuesday, Jafari said the 2,000-km range for Iran’s missiles is deemed to be sufficient because “most American interests and forces” in the Middle East lie within this range, Iran’s Tasnim news reported.

The US has several large bases in Arab countries in the region, including the forward headquarters of the US military’s Central Command in Qatar, American bases in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the US Navy’s 5^th Fleet in Bahrain.

In October, Jafari threatened US bases in the region saying they should be moved farther from Iran’s borders if it imposes new sanctions against Tehran.

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“If new sanctions go into effect, the country should move its regional bases to a 2000-kilometer (1,240-mile) radius” out of the range of Iranian missiles,” he stated.

The IRGC paramilitary force is in charge of the country’s missile program.

Describing the country’s missile capabilities as an asset, Jafari warned Iran’s “enemies” of the “high costs of infuriating the Iranian nation.”

“They know that if they begin a war between Iran and the United States, they will definitely be the main losers and their victory will by no means be guaranteed,” he said. “Therefore, they won’t start a war.”

Last week, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a gathering of new army officers that the vigorous efforts to boost Iran’s power is a non-negotiable issue.

Interestingly, several media sites interpreted Jafari’s statement to mean that Iran’s supreme leader has restricted the range of ballistic missiles manufactured in the country to 2,000 kilometers.

Iran claims its military development is for defense purposes only. However, many of these weapons were given to the Hezbollah terror organization and used against Israel’s civilian population during the Second Lebanon War in the summer of 2006.

Iran has repeatedly threatened to use its missiles against Israel.

By: World Israel News Staff