Iran Says It Can Build Longer-Range Missiles After Reported Carrier Strike

Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps says the country has the technological infrastructure needed to produce missiles with significantly longer ranges, but that moving ahead would require a political decision.

IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebbi made the remarks in an interview with the Islamic Republic News Agency on Tuesday. He said Iran would be capable of unveiling weapons with new ranges, greater precision and increased destructive power in any future confrontation.

Production depends on political decision

Mohebbi did not provide a timeline for the production of longer-range missiles or describe the process through which such a decision would be made. His comments indicate that the IRGC is presenting the technical capability as available, while leaving any move to produce the weapons subject to a decision within Iran.

While discussing the development and use of new weapons, Mohebbi said that the “battlefield is the best place to test new weapons.”

Claim about US aircraft carrier

Mohebbi also described what he said was a recent missile test involving a US aircraft carrier and a US warship. According to his account, the missile struck the aircraft carrier while it was within a range of 500 kilometres.

He said the strike damaged the carrier but did not disable it. Mohebbi further said Iran maintains that the attack caused casualties, although the United States did not announce such casualties, according to the account reported by IRNA.

The name of the aircraft carrier and the warship was not provided. Details about the extent of the damage and the number of casualties were also not given. The claims about the strike, the damage and casualties were attributed to Mohebbi.

Earlier warning from Iranian officials

Earlier this month, Iranian officials said Iran had carried out what they described as an important attack against a US vessel. They presented the action as a warning that a naval blockade was vulnerable.

The latest statements combine a claim about Iran’s existing missile-production capability with an account of a recent strike involving US naval assets. However, the available information does not identify the vessels or independently establish the reported damage and casualties.