Ahead of talks, Iran deploys ballistic missile at underground ‘missile city’
Tehran signals offensive readiness as negotiators arrive in Oman for high-stakes talks
Iran’s state-run Press TV said on Thursday that “one of the country’s most advanced long-range ballistic missile Khorramshahr 4” has been deployed at one of the Revolutionary Guards aerospace underground missile cities.
The Khorramshahr 4 has a range of 2,000km (1,240 miles) and is capable of carrying a 1,500kg warhead, it added.
Tehran has also announced a significant change in its military policy following the 12-day war with Israel last June, moving to a first-strike from a previously defensive posture.
State media said: “The operational deployment of the Khorramshahr-4 in missile cities on Wednesday coincides with the announced shift in the armed forces’ doctrine from defensive to offensive and carries a clear message to regional and extra-regional adversaries”.
The United States has long called for Iran to limit the range of its ballistic missiles. Iran and the US are scheduled to hold nuclear talks on Friday in Muscat, Oman, amid a recent US military build-up in the Middle East and Tehran’s stepped-up preparations.
Iran has the largest stockpile of ballistic missiles in the Middle East, according to the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Iranian missiles have a self-imposed range of 2,000km, which officials in the past said was enough to protect the country since it covers the distance to Israel.