The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps announced that it has lifted the 2,000-kilometer voluntary limitation on the range of ballistic missiles that it has been imposing for years.
Revolutionary Guards Spokesperson Brigadier General Hossein Mohebbi stated at a press conference in Tehran on November 7 that the restriction on missile range is no longer valid.
While Mohebbi said, "This limitation has been removed for us," he did not provide information on whether Iran currently has operational missiles with a range of over 2 thousand kilometers.
Saying that Iran will demonstrate its military capacity not with statements but with practices on the field, Mohebbi gave the message that his country has adopted a more attack-oriented approach in its military doctrine.
The decision came days after Iranian leader Mojtaba Khamenei announced that there would be no geographical limitations in responding to threats from the United States and Israel.
Khamenei stated that any threat against Iran should not be left unanswered, regardless of its level.
The Iranian leader also argued that the "neither war nor peace" situation with the USA should be ended.
The statements were made at a time of ongoing regional tension due to ongoing uncertainty in the Strait of Hormuz and the US naval blockade of Iranian ports.
Even the 2 thousand kilometer range limit that Iran previously imposed covered a wide geography.
Missiles at this range are capable of reaching the entire Arabian Peninsula, the Eastern Mediterranean countries, most of Egypt and some regions in southeastern Europe, depending on their launch points.
Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Albania, North Macedonia and parts of Serbia are also within this range.
Therefore, the new decision is not expected to create a major change in the short term for the Gulf countries. These countries are already within Iran's current missile range.
However, removing the range limit could allow Iran to deploy missiles that can reach targets further from the east of the country and expand its military options against US military facilities in Europe.
However, the decision does not mean that Iran is currently able to use longer-range missiles operationally.
According to the Associated Press, it has not yet been confirmed that Iran has operational ballistic missiles with a range of more than 2,000 kilometers.
Iran's new decision has increased debates regarding the security of US military bases, especially in Europe.
In March, Britain accused Iran of launching a missile against the joint US-UK military base Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.
Rejecting the claim of attack on the base, which is approximately 4 thousand kilometers away from Iran, the Tehran administration claimed that the incident was a provocation organized by Israel.
On the other hand, England, France and Germany stated in their technical evaluations in 2019 that a version of Iran's Hurremshahr missile with a lighter warhead could reach a range of approximately 3 thousand kilometers.
US officials also warned that the technologies used by Iran in its space program could be used to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles.
However, Iran does not have a confirmed intercontinental ballistic missile in its current inventory.
In his statement to state television, Iranian security analyst Mohammed Taheri claimed that increasing the missile range no longer poses a significant obstacle for Iran from a technical perspective.
Taheri argued that the technological capacity to reach a range of over 2 thousand kilometers has been developed since the mid-2010s.
Iranian analyst said, "If we increase the range to 4 thousand kilometers, we can put most of Europe and a significant part of North Africa within the range of our missiles."
Taheri also stated that Iran may abandon the geographical limitations it has observed so far due to its diplomatic relations in war conditions.
Although these statements reflect assessments of Iran's military capabilities, there is no independent confirmation that missiles with these ranges have been operationally deployed.
The Tehran administration has previously warned against US military activities in Europe.
Iran sent a diplomatic note to Bulgaria in April, asking that airports in its country not be used in American military operations against Iran.
The Bulgarian Parliament's decision to allow the deployment of up to eight US KC-135 refueling aircraft at Bezmer Air Base in July also drew reaction from Tehran.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ismail Bekayi said that Bulgarian officials should take responsibility for this decision.
In the news published by the Financial Times in August, two Iranian sources claimed that American bases in countries such as Bulgaria were considered among possible targets.
Allegations of threats against American military facilities in England have also come to the fore recently.
British intelligence officials claimed that Iran has increased its activities against military bases in Europe.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham argued that the Revolutionary Guard was most likely behind a suspicious plan against RAF Fairford Air Base, which was used by American bombers in Iran operations.
Iran denied the allegations and claimed that the incident was a provocation designed to incriminate itself.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the US military evacuated some of its aircraft from RAF Mildenhall Base in England following threat concerns from Iran.
It was stated that the refueling planes were transported to Germany and other points.
The British Ministry of Defense did not confirm the reason for the relocation of the aircraft and announced that military assets are regularly deployed to different bases according to operational requirements.
The Tehran administration is giving the message that if the USA and Israel launch new attacks, the military response may spread to a wider geography.
At the same time, Iran may make the range limit, which it previously voluntarily applied, a topic it can re-accept in future negotiations.
US President Donald Trump's statement that positive progress has been made in ending the conflicts after his meeting with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdurrahman Al Thani in Washington showed that diplomatic contacts are continuing.
In addition to his statements regarding the missile range, Revolutionary Guards Spokesperson Mohebbi also said that necessary preparations can be made if Iran decides to change its nuclear doctrine.
Iran's ballistic missile program has been at the forefront of disagreements between Western countries and Tehran for many years.
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), signed in 2015, envisaged the easing of sanctions in exchange for restrictions on Iran's nuclear activities.
Resolution 2231 of the United Nations Security Council, which supported the agreement, also included provisions regarding Iran's ballistic missile activities. Missile restrictions imposed under these provisions expired in October 2023.
US President Trump listed eliminating Iran's nuclear program and missile capacity among the main goals of the war that started in February 2026.
