Commander Stresses IRGC’s Ability to Target All US Vessels, Bases in Region

Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh said that the US fleets of warships are no longer a threat to Iran since the IRGC now enjoys the capability to hit all US vessels and bases in the region.
These vessels (US navy ships) are no longer a threat to us given the (desirable) level of our military capabilities,” Hajizadeh told reporters in a press conference on the achievements of the IRGC’s recent missile drills, codenamed “Payambar-e Azam (The Great Messenger) 6”.

“A large (aircraft) carrier with a length of 330 meters, 7o meters width, 6,000 forces and 70-80 aircraft aboard is an easy target for us, and if they want to threaten us, we will attack them” the commander added, but at the same time underlined that “Iran will never initiate a war”.

He also underlined Iran’s missile capabilities, and stated that about 70% of the US bases in the region are maximum 300 to 400 kilometers away from Iran, meaning that all of them are within the scope of the IRGC’s short and mid-range missiles.

Hajizadeh further stressed that the enemy cannot track or intercept the Iranian anti-ship and anti-vessel missiles since they are supersonic.

“… our coast-to-sea missiles traverse at supersonic speeds, of course this technology is own by a very few number of states,” he explained.

In February, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari announced that the IRGC has started mass-production of a recently-developed smart anti-ship ballistic missile.

“The IRGC’s smart ballistic missiles are now in mass-production and this type of missiles can hit and destroy targets with high-precision,” Jafari told reporters in a news conference here in Tehran in February.

“These new missiles traverse at supersonic speed and cannot be tracked or intercepted by enemy,” the commander said, adding that missiles can hit targets 300km away with high-precision.

The IRGC missile drills in late June demonstrated that Iran has made some huge progress in missile technology.

During the exercises, the IRGC conducted a successful test of hitting mobile naval targets in international waters by three hi-tech and radar-evading missiles.

Following the recent drills, Jafari said that his forces demonstrated just part of their capabilities during the exercises.

The Iranian commander added that Iran would not confine itself to blocking the Strait of Hormuz if any act of aggression was committed against the country.

The Iranian commander said Iran is after plans to fully exploit its defensive potential in the high seas, and added, “… if the enemy attempts to threaten Iran outside the Strait of Hormuz the country has the power to retaliate and this strategy is currently on our agenda”.