The commander of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard says his forces are expanding their capabilities to retaliate against possible enemy attacks from outside the Gulf.
Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari says Iran can strike back against foreign warships launching attacks against Iran from as far away as the Indian Ocean. Jafari made the comments in an interview with the semi-official Fars news agency Friday.
He made no direct mention of the U.S., but his remarks are a clear reference to American forces in the region.
Iran has sought to expand the range of its missiles and display a stronger naval presence in the region, including sending two warships in February into the Mediterranean for a stop at a Syrian port.
Earlier this week, the Fars news agency reported that the commander of the Iranian army’s ground force had warned that attacking Iran would be suicidal.
“Today no enemy has the requirements and the desire to carry out a military attack against the powerful Iran and military aggression against Iran is highly unlikely and even impossible and is synonymous with the suicide of the aggressor,” Brig. Gen. Ahmad Reza Pourdastan was quoted as saying on Tuesday.
The general boasted that Iran’s military capabilities were stronger than they have been at any point in history.
There has been much speculation that Israel or the United States plan on attacking Iran in order to stop its nuclear program, which many charge is being used to develop nuclear weapons. Iran denies this allegation.
{The Associated Press and News Agencies/Matzav.com Newscenter}
(secret, Israel can hit countries as far away as Iran)