Iran Lifts Missile Range Limit, Sparking Global Security Concerns

International discussion of Iran's missile capability has intensified in recent days. An IRGC spokesman announced on Saturday that Tehran has lifted its long-standing 2,000-kilometer missile range limit. A few months ago, the Supreme Leader's representative in Khuzestan, Abdulnabi Mousaviferd, claimed in a Friday sermon that Iran is preparing to increase the range of its ballistic missiles to 15,000 kilometers. If this claim turns out to be true, the continental United States will also be within Iran's missile reach. This statement is not just a technical claim, but a statement affecting the regional and global security equation. Iran has long been developing medium-range ballistic missiles. Its current capabilities are supposed to reach parts of the Middle East and Europe. But a 15,000-kilometer range would mean the development of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The development of an ICBM, a highly reliable rocket re-entry vehicle, and satellite navigation systems are among the complex rocket testing programs that Iran carries out.