Commander Of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Claims To Have Drones With A Range Of 7 Thousand Kilometers

Drone Iran Shahed 129. (Wikimedia Commons / Fars News Agency)

JAKARTA - The commander of Iran's elite forces claimed that the country's military has drones with a range of up to 7.000 kilometers, or about 4.375 miles, according to Iranian state media.

This claim is said to be of concern to Washington because it is concerned about regional stability in the region. Moreover, this statement comes amid efforts by Iran, the United States (US), and other world powers to return to the 2015 Nuclear Deal.

Western military analysts say Iran sometimes overestimates its capabilities, but drones are a key element in Tehran's border surveillance, especially the Gulf waters around the Strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of the world's oil supplies flows.

Iran and the regional forces it supports have increasingly relied on drones in Yemen, Syria, Iraq in recent years.

"We have unmanned aerial vehicles (drone) with a long-range of 7.000 kilometers. They can fly, return home, and land wherever they plan", said Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Hossein Salami as quoted by Reuters from IRNA, Monday, June 28.

Earlier, US President Joe Biden sought to revive and eventually expand the nuclear pact to place greater limits on Iran's nuclear and missile programs, as well as limit its activities.

Meanwhile, Tehran has ruled out negotiations over ballistic missiles and their role in the Middle East, where Shia-led Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia have been engaged in proxy wars.

To note, the United States under President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 Nuclear Deal in 2018. A year later, Trump began imposing sanctions on Iran.

Iran retaliated by violating the agreement, enriching its uranium to a current 60 percent purity. Recently, Iran even claimed to have succeeded in producing 6.5 kilograms of uranium enriched up to 60 percent.