The Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) announced on November 8 that it has lifted its own policy of limiting the range of ballistic missiles to 2,000 kilometers.A spokesman for Iran, Hossein Mohabi, told a press conference in Tehran on whether the restriction would continue, saying “to us, the restriction has been lifted.”
The statement is a declaration that it will lift the political restrictions on the development and operation of missiles.The AP said it was not known that Iran had missiles with a range of more than 2,000 kilometers.
The U.S. Congressional Bureau of Investigation (CRS) estimated the range of Iran’s Shahab-3 medium-range ballistic missile in 2025 to be approximately 2,000 kilometers, based on public data and the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency’s 2019 assessment, explaining that it does not include all the missiles developed since then.
2000 km is less than one-third of the direct distance from Tehran to Seoul, about 6566 km. The direct distance from London to London is about 4,400 km, so this number alone does not mean that the Korean Peninsula or the major Western European cities are in control. The distance is a direct line comparison between capitals, and the actual range of the missile depends on the type of aircraft and the load weight.
The CRS pointed out the possibility that Iran’s spacecraft technology could be used in the development of long-range ballistic missiles. The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency estimated that Iran could develop an intercontinental ballistic missile that could be used militarily by 2035.
What the announcement of the Revolutionary Guard has changed is the official four-range boundary.In judgment of actual capabilities, flight tests and race-specific performance data are important.