US will 'take to grave' wish to limit Iran's missile range, official says
A senior Iranian official on Tuesday rejected the idea of limiting Iran’s missile program, repeating that Washington’s proposal to cut missile range was unacceptable.
“Americans will take the wish of reducing Iran’s missile range to below 500 kilometers to the grave,” Armed Forces Judiciary chief Ahmadreza Pourkhaghan said during a meeting with Revolutionary Guard aerospace commanders, according to state media.
The comments follow those of Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, who said last month that the United States had raised a proposal to cap the range at 500 kilometers. “No honorable person would accept such a condition,” he said then.
Iranian commanders have instead stressed the opposite. Last week, Mohammad Jafar Asadi of the Khatam al-Anbiya central headquarters said Tehran would extend its missiles “to wherever necessary” and insisted the country was ready to defend itself.
Iran’s missiles have a declared range of up to 2,000 kilometers, which officials say covers Israel and is sufficient for deterrence.
Pourkhaghan said Iran’s missile and drone capabilities had shifted regional conflicts. “Powerful missile and drone strikes forced the Zionist enemy to raise the white flag and ask for a ceasefire,” he said.
