Iran and the United States have continued to exchange threats for weeks, although diplomatic efforts are ongoing.
Fears of a new military escalation after the midterm elections in the United States have grown following a recent directive from Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei. He ordered the armed forces to be ready to respond to any attack “immediately, effectively and without geographical restrictions.”
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The words “without geographical restrictions” have sparked debate in Iran about what they mean and whether Tehran can carry out the threat. As REL notes, when the United States and Israel first struck Iran on February 28, Tehran’s response included military and civilian targets in Arab states along the Persian Gulf.
The regime of the ayatollahs insisted that its targets were American interests in the region. Now, claims are circulating in Tehran that a resumption of the war could take the next phase of the conflict beyond that region.
Former Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki said the next conflict “will not be a regional war.” He warned that if Iran is attacked, the ensuing war “will reach Europe.”
Iranian media have interpreted his statement as a possible sign that Tehran is considering changing its policy on missile range.
The United States has at least 128 military bases and facilities in 51 countries, stretching from the Middle East and Europe to Africa and East Asia. According to Iranian officials, “the aggressors’ bases anywhere in the world” are now on the Islamic Republic’s armed forces’ list of targets.
However, the reformist daily Etemad noted that demand for longer-range missiles, the technical ability to produce them and an official decision to change policy are three separate matters.
