Guard chief says Iran won’t increase missile range

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency is reporting that the country has no plan to increase the range of its missiles.

The Tuesday report quotes the chief of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard, Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari, as saying: “We have the scientific ability to increase our missile rages, but it is not our current policy.”

Gen. Jafari added most of Iran’s enemies are already situated within a 2,000-kilometer (1,240-mile) radius of Iran.

In 2017, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered limits on the country’s ballistic missile program to 2,000 kilometers.

This range would encompass much of the Middle East, including Israel and American bases in the region. However, such limits come as Iran routinely says its ballistic missile program is only for defensive purposes against regional adversaries.