Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) on Saturday fired long-range ballistic missiles over a distance of 1800 km into the Indian Ocean on the second day of a military drill. Codenamed ‘Great Prophet-15’, the manoeuver consisted of the detection of hostile mock warships by the surveillance systems of the IRGC’s Aerospace Force, and their destruction using ballistic missiles of various classes within a 1,800 km range.
American news outlets reported that the missiles landed 20 miles from a commercial vessel and 100 miles from the the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz. At least two Iranian ballistic missiles sent pieces of debris splashing in all directions after they exploded on impact with the ocean.
“One of our most important defence policy goals is to use long-range ballistic missiles against enemy warships, including aircraft carriers and warships,” said the IRGC commander-in-chief Major General Hossein Salami. With these missiles, which have a range of 1,800 kilometres, he said, “we can now strike moving targets in the ocean,” instead of the usual low-speed cruise missiles.
Chief of Staff General Mohammad Baqeri said that while Iran had “no offensive intentions”, it would now be able to “respond to any hostile and malicious act in the shortest time”.
The targets for Saturday’s missile drills were in the Gulf of Oman and the northern Indian Ocean. It followed Friday’s testing of surface-to-surface ballistic missiles and locally manufactured new drones in the same area. On Wednesday, Iran tested short-range naval missiles in the Gulf. Earlier this month, Iran also held exercises that featured a wide range of domestically produced drones.
The gamut of military exercises comes amid the end of President Trump’s administration, which oversaw a turbulent period in the US-Iran relations. After President Trump abandoned Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal and reinstated harsh sanctions against Tehran, periodic confrontations between the Iranian and US militaries in the Gulf have become much more frequent.
Iran has also vowed revenge against the US and Trump for the killing of Iran’s Major General Qassem Soleimani January last year. An Iranian court also issued an arrest warrant against President Trump on the charge of premeditated murder. While it is highly unlikely that it will be carried out, the warrant is symbolic in the waning days of the Trump presidency.