IRGC to Establish Separate Missile Command

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Commander Brigadier General Mohammad Ali Jafari said here on Wednesday that it is possible for Iran to establish an independent missile command.

Jafari stated that the move is being made to upgrade the IRGC missile department.

Forming of an independent commandership of missiles aims at strengthening the structure of the missile section, Jafari said.

“We should not allow the basic spirit of success and victory to be diminished in Revolution Guards”, Jafari said.

In order to face recent or potential threats, the revolution guards needs to be equipped and strengthened with the required technique, he added.

Pointing to the external threats against Iran, he said, “An attack against Iran by the United States is not possible without the cooperation of Israel, and the United States needs Israel for such an attack. This need for cooperation is itself a deterrent factor for a strike on Iran because of the vulnerability of Israel.”

The geographical location of Israel and Iran’s external capabilities for dealing a blow to Israel are two more reasons why a strike against Iran is unlikely, he observed.

“Our strategic appraisals and estimates reveal that the slightest movement against our interests by Israel… would destabilize all the territories under the Zionist regime’s control in no time. The Zionist regime lacks strategic depth and is entirely within range of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s missiles. Our missile capability is such that the Zionist regime, with all its facilities, will not be able to confront it,” Jafari added.

“The Israelis are surely aware that in the event of any measure against Iran, the Islamic world and the Shiite world would deliver the coup de grace,” he said.

Jafari emphasized that Iran’s plans for countering any attack are worked out with the US in mind not Israel.

The response will be “swift, firm, scathing, and unbelievable,” he said.

Jafari called “organizational flexibility” one of the most important characteristics of the IRGC.

“The (revolutionary guard) corps is not a rigid military organization. Flexibility is a prerequisite because, depending on the nature of the threat, its mission would change.”

He also said the recent structural reforms of the IRGC were instituted to improve the quantitative and qualitative capabilities of the organization in light of current and future threats

The announcement came amid reports that an armada of US and European warships will be deployed in the Persian Gulf in an unprecedented build-up.

The IRGC completed military maneuvers in the Persian Gulf called Payambar-e Azam 3 (Great Prophet 3) in mid July to improve combat readiness and capability. Iran successfully test fired new long- and medium-range missiles in the drills.

Jafari said early this month that Iran has tested a new advanced naval weapon, which is “unique in the world” and can target the enemy at the range of 300 km.

Israel and its close ally the United States accuse Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon, while they have never presented any corroborative document to substantiate their allegations. Both Washington and Tel Aviv possess advanced weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear warheads.

Iran vehemently denies the charges, insisting that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only. Tehran stresses that the country has always pursued a civilian path to provide power to the growing number of Iranian population, whose fossil fuel would eventually run dry.

Iran has also insisted that it would continue enriching uranium because it needs to provide fuel to a 300-megawatt light-water reactor it is building in the southwestern town of Darkhoveyn as well as its first nuclear power plant in the southern port city of Bushehr.

The Bush administration insists that it will take “no option off the table.”

Some observers believe that it is possible that the United States and Israel would attack Iranian targets for Tehran’s nuclear program.

Intensified threats by Tel Aviv and Washington of military action against Iran are in direct opposition to a recent report by 16 US intelligence bodies which endorsed the civilian nature of Iran’s nuclear plans and activities.

Following the US National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) and similar reports by the IAEA head – one in November and the other one in February – which praised Iran’s truthfulness about key aspects of its past nuclear activities and announced settlement of outstanding issues with Tehran, any effort to impose further sanctions or launch military attack on Iran seems to be completely irrational.

The February report by the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, praised Iran’s cooperation in clearing up all of the past questions over its nuclear program, vindicating Iran’s nuclear program and leaving no justification for any new UN sanctions.

The UN nuclear watchdog has also carried out at least 14 surprise inspections of Iran’s nuclear sites so far, but found nothing to support West’s allegations.

Following the said reports by the US and international bodies, many world states have called the UN Security Council pressure against Tehran unjustified, demanding that Iran’s case must be normalized and returned from the UNSC to the IAEA.

Meantime, a recent study by the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), a prestigious American think tank, found that a military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities “is unlikely” to delay the country’s program.

The ISIS study also cautioned that an attack against Iran would backfire by compelling the country to acquire nuclear weaponry.