Iran's Revolutionary Guard Says it has Lifted Self-Imposed Missile-Range Limit

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has announced that it has lifted a self-imposed limit of 2,000 kilometers, or approximately 1,200 miles, on the range of its ballistic missiles, raising concerns that the country could seek to develop weapons capable of striking more distant targets.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard says it has lifted its self-imposed limit on ballistic missile ranges amid rising tensions with the United States and Israel. [Photo: Fars Media Corporation]

The announcement came amid heightened tensions and fears of renewed conflict with the United States and Israel, The Associated Press (AP) reported.

IRGC spokesman Brigadier General Hossein Mohebbi made the comments at a news conference in Tehran, days after Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei warned that any threat from the United States or Israel would receive a response without geographic limits.

Asked about the previous restriction on missile ranges, Mohebbi said, “That restriction has been lifted for us.”

He did not say whether Iran had already developed or deployed ballistic missiles capable of exceeding the 2,000-kilometer range. Instead, he said Iran would “demonstrate these capabilities in practice” rather than make further announcements.

Iran has not been publicly confirmed to possess operational ballistic missiles with ranges beyond 2,000 kilometers.

That distance would put parts of southeastern Europe, the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant and much of Egypt within reach.

US officials have also warned that technology developed for Iran's space program could potentially be adapted for intercontinental ballistic missiles. However, the ability to repurpose space-launch technology does not mean Iran has already developed an operational intercontinental missile.

Separately, Iran's military said a tanker east of the Strait of Hormuz had struck a naval mine and caught fire.

It did not identify the vessel's nationality or destination, saying the ship had switched off its navigation beacon and was sailing in what it described as a prohibited area.