Iran may increase missile ranges to reach Europe, Kharrazi warns
Iran might increase the range of its ballistic missiles to reach Europe, a senior adviser to Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said on Friday, amid strained relations between Tehran and the European Union.
“When they (Europeans) do not take into account Iran’s sensitivity, it is no longer necessary for Iran to heed their sensitivity, so it is likely that Iran will develop and increase the range of its missiles,” Kamal Kharrazi, who also resides Iran’s Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, told Lebanese TV channel Al Mayadeen.
Iran’s ballistic missiles, including Shahab 3, can hit targets as far as 2,000 kilometers away, enough to pound Israel.
Kharrazi also repeated his previous warnings that Iran would change its military doctrine to make a nuclear bomb in case of an existential threat.
“What I said [previously that] if its existence is threatened, the Islamic Republic of Iran will revisit its military doctrine, is still in place and we have the capability to build the whole weapon,” the veteran diplomat said.
The warning came amid heightened tensions between Iran and Israel which saw the two archenemies trading strikes in recent months.
Iran’s ‘inevitable’ response to Israel
Iran reiterated on Thursday that it will respond to Israel’s recent attack, with top commanders of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) affirming that a response to the regime’s aggression is “inevitable.”
Iran’s Deputy Commander of IRGC Brigadier General Ali Fadavi confirmed in a statement to Lebanon’s Al Mayadeen television network that Iran’s response to any Israeli aggression was “inevitable,” emphasizing that, “For over 40 years, we have never left any attack unanswered.”
“We can target everything the Zionists possess in a single operation,” Fadavi said, adding that the martyrdom of Resistance leaders “strengthens rather than weakens the Resistance.”
General Fadavi’s remarks were the first statement from an Iranian official indicating that the Islamic Republic intended to retaliate against Israel’s October 26 strikes on its soil.
He also noted that, “Israel believed it had eradicated Hezbollah with the martyrdom of its leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and other resistance leaders,” however, “Hezbollah is now stronger than before.”
According to Fadavi, Hezbollah’s attacks on Israeli positions have intensified both on the ground and in the air, which indicates that the Resistance is still as dynamic and strong as before.
IRGC’s Chief Commander Major General Hossein Salami also warned Israel that it will receive such a great response for its recent act of aggression against Iran that it cannot conceive, saying that the Israelis are mistaken to think that they can change the history by launching a number of missiles.
Meanwhile, Iran’s permanent representative to the UN Office and other international organizations in Geneva have severely censured the latest Israeli strikes against the country’s military sites, stating that the Islamic Republic will not hesitate to exercise its legitimate right and defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
In a note addressed to the member states of the Conference on Disarmament on Thursday, Iran’s diplomatic mission enumerated a series of the Israeli regime’s actions and adventurism that run contrary to international laws and have targeted Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The mission noted that such moves constitute flagrant violations of the fundamental principles of international law, diplomatic and consular immunities besides Article 2, Clause 4 of the UN Charter and United Nations resolutions, emphasizing that Iran reserves its inherent right to defend its nationals, interests and national security under Article 51 of the Charter.