Iran threatens missile strike on US bases

05 July 2012

Iran is prepared to fire missiles at US bases across the Persian Gulf as well as targets in Israel within minutes of a foreign attack, a senior Iranian military official has warned.

Speaking in response to a report that the United States had deployed extra fighter jets and minesweepers to the Gulf, Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh said that a range of missiles had been aimed at 35 US base locations and were "ready" to destroy them.

"We have thought of measures to set up bases and deploy missiles to destroy all these bases in the early minutes after an attack" he said.

He further added that the selected US bases were all in range of Iranian missiles, and that "the occupied lands" [Israel] were also a "good" target.

The move follows a three-day military exercise - 'Great Prophet Seven' - which saw the Iranian Revolutionary Guard testing a number of missiles including Shahab-3 and Sejil. Both missiles are said to have the capability of travelling 1,200 miles, twice the distance between Iran and Israel.

Iranian officials have claimed that the exercise was a show of defiance against western pressure, including the US and EU embargo against imports of Iranian oil that came into effect on 1 July.

The US military presence across the Gulf region includes bases within the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait with its Bahrain-based 5th fleet navy situated 120 miles from the Iranian coast.