'Will develop to any extent it deems necessary': Did Khamenei lift ALL cap on Iran's missile range?
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "'Will develop to any extent it deems necessary': Did Khamenei lift ALL cap on Iran's missile range?")
Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Photograph: (AFP)
A senior Iranian legislator announced on Wednesday that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has lifted all previous restrictions on the range of Iran’s missile systems. This marks what could be a significant change in the country's military strategy following the intense conflict in June
Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Thursday (Oct 9) lifted all limits to the range of Iran’s missiles, a senior Iranian lawmaker revealed. This signals a major shift in Tehran's defence policy after the June conflict with Israel and the US. Ahmad Bakhshayesh Ardestani, a member of parliament’s national security committee said that Iran has developed and will continue to develop its missile program “to any extent it deems necessary.” While Khamenei had previously capped missile range at 2,200 kilometers, he has now “removed any such limitation,” Ardestani added. He also said that Tehran will accept “no limits on missile range" because it is the “most important element of military power.” There is no official statement from Khamenei yet.
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Ardestani's statement comes a day after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused Israel of lying about Tehran’s ambitions to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles in order to deceive the US. Referring to a statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Araghchi said that Israel “finally managed to deceive the U.S. into attacking the Iranian people.” “With the failure of that action, Israel is now trying to make an imaginary threat out of our defense capabilities," he added. The decision comes even as Tehran's security chief Ali Larijani confirmed last month that Washington had floated the idea to limit Iran's missiles' range. “No honorable person would accept such a condition,” Larijani had said revealing that Iran rejected the idea.
Previously, a high-ranking Iranian official also dismissed the notion of restricting the country’s missile capabilities, calling a U.S. proposal to limit missile range completely unacceptable. Ahmadreza Pourkhaghan, head of the Armed Forces Judiciary, stated during a meeting with Revolutionary Guard aerospace leaders that “the Americans will carry their dream of cutting Iran’s missile range to under 500 kilometers to the grave.”
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