Top IRGC commander warns EU to not test limits of Iran's patience

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
25 Feb 2023 11:19

Senior IRGC commander, Brigadier General Amir-Ali Hajizadeh hailed the IRGC for their efforts at undermining the American war machine and bringing all US regional military bases within the range of Iran's defensive firepower.

Brigadier General Amir-Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Aerospace Division of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)

During a televised program on Iranian mational TV on Thursday, a senior IRGC commander and the chief of the IRGC's Aerospace forces, Brigadier General Amir-Ali Hajizadeh, warned the EU not to test the limits of Iran's patience as the bloc continues to slap provoking and unjustified sanctions against the Iranian Republic.

The top commander noted that Iranian missiles have a range of 2,000 km and the IRGC has the capacity to further widen that range.

But the IRGC intentionally capped the range at 2,000 km "out of respect" for the European Union, so as to avoid giving the wrong signals and maintain good diplomacy with the bloc.

"We are now capable of targeting American aircraft carriers at a 2,000-kilometer (1242-miles) distance," he said.

"Of course, we have [voluntarily] kept the distance [that can be reached by our missiles] at 2,000 kilometers out of respect for the Europeans," he said, adding, "We hope [then] that the Europeans [too] would preserve their dignity."

The statements come in reference to Europe's increasingly biased stance against Iran and its engagement with Washington's sanctions on Tehran.

In January, the European Parliament voted a resolution to include the IRGC on their "terror list", but foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and Germany later admitted there were no legal grounds for doing so.

The bloc has also sanctioned several Iranian individuals and entities over the Western-backed riots that took place in Iran in the past few months, including the West, in the aim of destabilizing Tehran.

US bases turned into Americans' weak spot

During the interview, Hajizadeh further slammed the US for profiting from lies it fabricates in order to generate regional insecurity. Hajizadeh noted that the US is the root cause of several conflicts across the world - including the Ukraine conflict and the political status of Taiwan.

On matters related to regional security, the top commander said that "the region sits on a security fault line," and warned, "If we fail to be strong, the enemy will bring the war inside Iran."

Hajizadeh, therefore, urged the Iranian nation to "be very careful in order to be able to meet the security needs of our dear nation and country."

The senior commander hailed the IRGC for their efforts at undermining the American war machine and bringing all US regional military bases within the range of Iran's defensive firepower.

US bases "have [thus] turned into the Americans' weak spot," he said, adding that the IRGC can strike the US outposts "whenever the need arises."

IRGC hypersonic missile has a speed over Mach 13

On matters related to Iran's missile capabilities, the IRGC Aerospace Forces' chief said Iran will produce a new hypersonic missile and announced the inclusion of a new cruise missile in the list of the IRGC's defense inventory.

According to the official, IRGC's hypersonic missile has a speed of over Mach 12-13 and has an engine that can be ignited 300-500-"anywhere" km from the target, and then starts maneuvering.

The missile is also at least a two-stage boost-glide ballistic missile, with the final stage (before HGV separation) being used to evade exo-atmospheric systems, such as THAAD/SM-3/Arrow-3.

Hence, the missile cannot be destroyed by any of the US' anti-missile systems; Hajizadeh added that "the enemies will not be capable of developing a similar missile over many upcoming decades."

Regarding the development of a new long-range cruise missile, named "Paveh", Hajizadeh said that the missile can travel as far as 1,650 kilometers (1,025 miles).

"Our cruise missile with a range of 1,650 kilometers has been added to the missile arsenal of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said, adding that the country managed to reduce the weight of its long-range missiles by one-fourth and the time needed for their production by a sixth.