Iranian military commander has threatened to launch ballistic missile attacks on U.S. forces

A top Iranian military commander has threatened to launch ballistic missile attacks on U.S. forces in the region amid a public effort by the Islamic Republic to show off its advanced missile capabilities, according to U.S. officials and regional reports.

Iranian leaders disclosed that their advanced ballistic missile technology, which could be used as part of a nuclear weapons program, is sophisticated enough to strike U.S. forces up to nearly 1,300 miles, or 2,000 kilometers, away, which encompasses all U.S. bases in the region.

The head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, announced on Tuesday that Iranian missiles can already "cover all U.S. bases in the region" and that Tehran has the capability to increase its missile power even further.

"Based on the policies specified by the Leader [Ayatollah Khamenei], the range of our missiles is limited to 2,000km, but we have the capability to increase the range," IRGC Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari said following an announcement by the country's supreme leader that Iranian ballistic missile technology would be capped at this distance for the short term.

While pro-Iran activists cheered the announcement as a sign of moderation on Iran's part, U.S officials and experts told the Washington Free Beacon that the distance cap on these missiles is effectively meaningless since the country's current military technology is capable of striking U.S. forces, a position emphasized by Iranian military leaders.

"At present it [this distance] is sufficient because the Americans are in a 2,000 km radius from our country and their attacks will be responded," Jafari was quoted as saying in Iran's state-controlled press outlets.

U.S. military and administration officials told the Free Beacon the United States is cementing multiple plans to counter Iran's ballistic missile threat and will continue to pursue these efforts despite Iranian threats of military violence.

"We have consistently maintained that we will work with our allies to change Iran's malign and destabilizing activities," one senior military official told the Free Beacon.
Credit to Free Beacon.