IRGC: Iran can extend ballistic missile range
In the accompanying excerpted article from Mashregh News, an outlet close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the commander of the IRGC’s aerospace force, addresses Iran’s missile program against the backdrop of a broader speech about how the United States and Europe cannot be trusted. He praises Iran’s go-it-alone attitude and argues that if Iranian authorities listen to or compromise with the West, the Islamic Republic would face terrorist movements and military threats within its own territory. That he singles out both the Pahlavi regime (overthrown in 1979) and alleged US support for separatist movements highlights growing concern about the increasing profile and popularity of Reza Pahlavi, son of the ousted shah, as well as recent attacks in Iranian Kurdistan, Khuzestan, and Balochistan.
In the same speech, Hajizadeh acknowledges that sanctions and military embargoes had caused Iran difficulty, but said that indigenous defense industries (many of which the IRGC controls) had overcome such difficulties and enabled Iran to develop cutting-edge military technology.
Iran’s continued development of ballistic missiles remains a diplomatic bone of contention between Tehran and many Western states. In the article, Hajizadeh urges his followers not to worry about the 2,000 kilometer limit to Iran’s ballistic missile range, assuring them that such a limit is self-imposed and the result of a political decision, and that Iran has the technology to exceed that. Indeed, Iran has increasingly launched satellites utilizing the same rocket technology that could be used for longer range missiles. This creates a situation where Iran seeks diplomatic benefit from limiting its range, while pursuing the technology and means to extend its missiles’ reach at will.
Beyond discussion of the longest range missiles, Hajizadeh brags about Iran’s medium-range arsenal. Though he does not say as much outright, the 300-400 kilometer range missiles would be capable of hitting almost any US military facility in the Persian Gulf region, while the 700 – 800 kilometer range missiles could target Iranian adversaries in Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan.
