Leader's Aide: Iran to Hit All Enemy Bases if Attacked

A senior advisor to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution warned of Iran's crushing response to any enemy action against the country, saying that Tehran will target all enemy bases if it comes under attack.

Iran's long-range missiles are capable of targeting all the enemies' military bases, Brigadier General Yahya Rahim-Safavi said on Friday.



"You would sustain heavy casualties outnumbering as many as thousands on the first week of Iran attack, if any," Safavi stressed at a ceremony in Tehran.



Comparing Iran's defense capabilities with those of enemies, Safavi said Islamic Iran enjoys more sophisticated equipment.



Last week, Rahim-Safavi said Iran's 2,000 km long coastal strip along the Persian Gulf allows the country to target any hostile navel activity in the area.



"Every American warship is within the reach of our armed forces' surface-to-sea missiles," Rahim Safavi said last Friday, suggesting that the consequences of a strike against Iran would be different from Iraq and Afghanistan.



Iran has warned that in case of an attack by either the US or Israel, it will target 32 American bases in the Middle East and close the strategic Strait of Hormuz.



The Strait of Hormuz, the entrance to the strategic Persian Gulf waterway, is a major oil shipping route. A major part of world's energy supply passes through the waterway.



The IRGC is responsible for the security of the Persian Gulf. In 2008, Rahim Safavi declared that the responsibility of the Persian Gulf defense had been handed over to the IRGC.



In August, the IRGC launched tens of its missile-launching speedboats in the Persian Gulf.



The speedboats in Zolfaqar, Tareq, Ashoura and Zoljanah classes were launched in a ceremony attended by Admiral Fadavi and a number of other high-ranking officials.



The Islamic Republic has mass-produced a large number of speed-boats with rocket- launchers and other sophisticated military equipment which are able to strike a heavy blow at any foreign warship if the country comes under attack.



Also the IRGC has earlier announced that it is ready to deploy its submarines and combat boats to intercept vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.