Tehran, Iran, January 1
By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:
It is hoped that with your support, the range of Iran's missiles surpasses 5,000 kilometers in near future, said Expediency Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei in an open letter to President Hassan Rouhani.
The former IRGC commander thanked Rouhani for his swift follow-up order to reports of US sanctions resumption where he obliged the Defense Ministry to heat up Iran's missile program, Rezaei's official website wrote January 1.
Missiles with a 5,000-kilometer range would be able to threaten the US air base in Diego Garcia which was used for Operation Eagle Claw, the former commander stated.
Diego Garcia, a small, strategically located, isolated island in the Indian Ocean is home to Camp Justice, a United States military base.
Two days earlier, reports said the US Treasury Department was preparing sanctions against a number of Iranian and other international companies and individuals for their alleged role in developing Iran's ballistic missile program.
The reports were met with harsh reaction by Iran as President Hassan Rouhani in an official decree on December 31 ordered Defense Minister Hossein Dehqan to brace the missile program.
The interventionist nature of the US has proven that at such times the only thing that can defend Iran's national interests is a hard smack, Rezaei stressed.
"The US will regret its behavior and realize that such actions cause no benefit," he stressed.
According to the nuclear agreement reached between Iran and the group 5+1 (the US, UK, France, Russia, China, and Germany), the signatories are to remove past sanctions and refrain from imposing any new restrictions on Iran's economy.