On November 24, 2014, according to a MEMRI report issued last Thursday, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Ali Jafari declared:
“Today, the entire area of the occupied territories (by which he meant all of Israel) is within range of the missiles of the resistance – meaning the fall of the Zionist regime. Of course, the matter does not end here, and certainly the final liberation [of Palestine] will come about.”
In March 2016, the IRGC launched long-range ballistic missiles with the range of 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles).
The launch was attended by IRGC officials also explicitly threatened Israel, stating that the missiles were meant “to destroy the Zionist enemy.”
Media reports at the time included a picture of a missile with the slogan “Israel should be wiped off the face of the earth” written in Hebrew and Farsi.
IRGC officials indicated that limiting the range of Iranian missiles so that they reach Israel but not Europe were part of the Iran deal
According to MEMRI, IRGC officials have indicated that restrictions on the range of Iranian missiles so that they reach Israel but not Europe were part of the Iran nuclear deal with the West. For instance, Jafari referred to the IRGC’s November 2, 2015 consent to UN Security Council Resolution 2231, saying:
“One of the points in this resolution was the matter of restrictions, which some military elements feared. Therefore, we held meetings in [Iran’s] Supreme National Security Council, and also went to the Leader (Khamenei). The [Iranian] negotiating team told the Westerners that we do not agree to these restrictions. [The Westerners] said that these issues must be included in the resolution. Even when I met with the Leader, he said that there were no restrictions on developing defensive capabilities. The only restriction relates to nuclear missiles, which, obviously, we never wanted.”
The next day, according to MEMRI, on November 3, 2015, Iranian Army chief of staff Hassan Firouzabadi referred to Jafari’s remarks, saying:
“I confirm statements by the IRGC commander that Iran’s missile activity is not restricted. We will follow two restrictions: the first is mentioned in the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, a.k.a. the Iran nuclear deal), in the matter of no nuclear planning, and the second is the range of 2,000 km, which has already been noted previously by all elements in Iran.”
Incidentally, MEMRI’s report notes that the Hebrew version of this news item, published by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) November 4, 2015, explicitly mentioned, in both the headline and the text, that the JCPOA allows Iran to possess ballistic missiles of a range of 2,000 km.
The Hebrew news item read: “Firouzabadi: The Nuclear Agreement Promises Iran Missiles With 2,000-km Range.”
The Hebrew-language story read:
“The chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, Maj.-Gen. Hassan Firouzabadi, stressed that the state, under orders from the general commander of the IRGC (Khamenei), undertakes, inter alia, to restrict nuclear planning, but that it is entitled to produce missiles with a range of 2,000 km.
“Firouzabadi made these statements […] to a group of Islamic regime leaders and officials, and referred to [statements by] the IRGC general commander emphasizing that Iran would commit to the sections of the nuclear agreement with the West that include a restriction on nuclear planning, and that in addition, Iran is entitled to possess missiles with a range of 2,000 km.”
MEMRI notes that UN Security Council Resolution 2231 (from 2015) constitutes a concession by the Obama administration, with two components:
While UNSCR 1929 (from 2010) banned Iran from conducting any activity concerning missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, UNSCR 2231 replaced the word “capable” with the word “intended.” And while UNSCR 1929 banned Iran from conducting any missile activity, UNSCR 2231 rescinds this ban.
Following Iran’s May 9, 2016 missile test, well into the life of JCPOA, which embarrassed the Obama administration, IRGC Aerospace and Missile Division director Amir Ali Hajizadeh said, according to MEMRI: “The Americans are telling [us]: ‘Don’t talk about missile affairs, and if you conduct a test or maneuver, don’t mention it.'”
Sounds like yet a “don’t ask don’t tell” policy from the folks that gave us the “Arab Spring.” Now it’s up to the new sheriff in town to drain this swamp.