Iran's Revolutionary Guards Say Self-Imposed 2,000-Kilometre Missile Range Cap Is Lifted
TEHRAN — Brigadier General Hossein Mohebbi, spokesman for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, told a news conference in Tehran on Saturday, November 7, marking the Guards' Aerospace Week, that Iran's self-imposed limit of about 2,000 kilometres (1,240 miles) on the range of its ballistic missiles has been lifted. "This restriction has been lifted for us," he said, according to Iranian state-linked outlets including Tasnim and Mehr.
The ceiling dated to 2017, when it was set under the former supreme leader, Ali Khamenei. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had previously described the policy as a deliberate Iranian choice to cap missile ranges at 2,000 kilometres. Saturday's announcement formally retires that nearly decade-old restraint and suggests Tehran may now seek missiles able to reach more distant targets.
Mohebbi added that any new range capability must be demonstrated in practice rather than merely claimed in advance, and said work on extending missile range continues without pause. There is no evidence that Iran has tested or fielded an operational missile exceeding the former limit, a line Mohebbi himself drew at the same news conference.
The remarks followed comments by Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei ordering an immediate and effective response, without geographical limits, to any threat against Iran. The statements above are the Revolutionary Guards' own account and have not been independently verified. (Source: Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps)
Source: Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：伊朗「霍拉姆沙赫尔-4」弹道导弹在2023年5月25日的公开展示中竖立于发射车上，该型导弹的宣称射程约为2,000公里。Ehsan Naderipour 摄，CC BY 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Iran's Khorramshahr-4 ballistic missile, credited with a range of about 2,000 kilometres, on its launcher at its unveiling on May 25, 2023. By Ehsan Naderipour, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
