Iran's Revolutionary Guard lifts ballistic missile range restrictions

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed that it had lifted its own ballistic missile range restrictions.

This is interpreted as sending a warning message that in the future missile development process, even overseas U.S. military assets beyond the Middle East could be within range.

According to the Associated Press and the Times of Israel on the 7th (local time), IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebi was asked about missile range restrictions at a press conference that day and responded, "For us, those restrictions have been lifted."

He added, “Iran will demonstrate these capabilities through actual actions.”

Iran has insisted that it limits the range of its ballistic missiles to 2,000 km, but has indicated that it will develop missiles that can expand the range and hit farther areas in the future.

This is a remark made a week after Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei ordered the Iranian military to "respond without geographical restrictions" on the 31st of last month.

At the time, Khamenei ordered a complete update of the military target list to include all tangible and intangible assets of the United States and Israel within the Iranian military's strike range.

Accordingly, there is a possibility that Iran's missile range will expand beyond the current Arabian Peninsula and parts of Greece and the Balkan Peninsula to Europe and the Indian Ocean.

It is known that Iran already attempted to strike Diego Garcia, a joint British-American military base in the Indian Ocean about 4,000 km away from Iran, with a missile in March, but failed.

The United States is also continuing to weigh whether to resume military attacks against Iran.

According to NBC News, President Trump reportedly received advice from his advisers that if he wants to resume military operations against Iran just before the midterm elections, he must make a decision before the new Congress is inaugurated in January next year.

President Trump later announced on the 6th that the U.S. military conducted a limited airstrike targeting Iranian air defense facilities.

Military tensions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz also continue.

According to the Associated Press, the U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, announced that it fired on a St. Kitts-flagged merchant ship that was trying to break through the U.S. military's maritime blockade against Iran in the Gulf of Oman.

The Central Command explained that after the ship stopped at an Iranian port, it ignored several warnings and attacked when it attempted to leave the sea area, disabling it.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard also announced that two oil tankers hit a mine and caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz on this day.

The Revolutionary Guard claimed that these ships attempted to leave the strait through an unauthorized route with their identification systems turned off, but did not disclose the ships' loading or destination.