Iran has often warned of major retaliation if they faced a military strike from Israel or the West, but the latest comments appear tailored to emphasize the expanding range of Iranian missiles following 10 days of war games. The exercises included unveiling underground missile silos that Iran says is capable of multiple launches.
“Aircraft carriers... are moving targets. If the enemy threatens us, we will target them,” said Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the commander of the Guard’s aerospace force, in comments broadcast on state TV.
Hajizadeh also confirmed that Iran secretly conducted missile tests earlier this year that he claimed hit targets at the “mouth of the Indian Ocean.”
Hajizadeh said two missiles with ranges of 1,900 kilometers were fired during the Iranian month of Bahman, from Jan. 21 to Feb 19, from Semnan province in northern Iran.
Iran usually tests its missiles in extensive deserts in the heart of the country, so the firing into the Indian Ocean is an unusual move, aimed to prove Tehran’s longstanding claims it can hit targets beyond its borders.
Television showed a missile being fired but the announcer did not specify if the pictures were of the Indian Ocean test-firing. No pictures were shown of a target being hit at sea.
Hajizadeh said US spy planes were operating in the area where the missiles hit. “It is interesting that they did not publicize it,” he said.
In April, the commander of the Revolutionary Guard said Iran’s arsenal is capable of striking “remote regions outside the Persian Gulf.”
Iran says its longest-range missiles, Shahab-3 and Sajjil-2, can travel up to 2,000 kilometers — putting Israel, US bases in the Gulf region and parts of Europe within reach.
Two Iranian warships entered the Mediterranean in February for the first time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and an Iranian submarine returned this week after a journey that included the Red Sea.
Hajizadeh also claimed that Iran has acquired technology to build supersonic surface-to-sea missiles. He didn’t elaborate, but defense analysts believe China has helped develop the anti-ship weapons.
Iran also says it has the ability to produce missiles with an even greater range than those currently in its arsenal, but won’t manufacture them because Israel and US bases are already within reach.
Last month, British Foreign Secretary William Hague told the House of Commons that Iran has conducted covert tests of ballistic missiles since October in addition to the publicly announced military maneuvers.
Hajizadeh only confirmed that missile tests were carried out. It was not clear if the covert tests in February were the same as claimed by Hague.
Iran remains locked in a standoff with the West over its nuclear program, which the US and its allies suspect is aimed at developing atomic weapons. Iran denies the charges, and says the program is only for peaceful purposes.
Iran conducts several war games every year as part of its military self-sufficiency program that started in 1992, and frequently unveils new weapons and military systems during the drills.
