Deputy Commander of the IRGC: The IRGC's Tunnels Are Filled with Ready-to-Launch Missiles

In response to the potential imposition of new sanctions against Iran's missile program, Mohsen Rezaei called for increasing the range of Iran's missiles to five thousand kilometers, and the Deputy Commander of the IRGC announced that Iran has "hundreds of long tunnels filled with missiles" and is facing a "space shortage" for storing them. According to the IRNA news agency, Hossein Salami, Deputy Commander of the IRGC, stated in the pre-Friday prayer sermon on December 11 that "we have missile depots and long tunnels filled with missiles that are all ready to launch to defend the dignity, independence, and freedom of the nation and other Muslims around the world." He emphasized that the IRGC will "continue to develop its missile power with greater speed." This IRGC commander reacted to the UN Security Council resolutions regarding Iran's missile program by saying, "We never read the writings on paper dictated by great powers; we create power ourselves." The American newspaper Wall Street Journal reported on December 9 that the U.S. is preparing new sanctions against individuals and companies in Iran, Hong Kong, and the United Arab Emirates due to their "role" in "developing Iran's ballistic missile program." Following this report, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani instructed his defense minister to pursue Iran's missile production program with more speed and seriousness. Meanwhile, a subsequent report from the Wall Street Journal indicated that the proposed new sanctions by the U.S. have been delayed, although the newspaper noted that the U.S. government remains determined to counter Iran's missile program. Islamic Republic officials state that Iran's missile program does not violate the Vienna nuclear agreement and that these programs will continue. In this context, Mohsen Rezaei, Secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council and former IRGC commander, expressed hope in a letter to Hassan Rouhani that with his support, Iran's missiles would reach a range of five thousand kilometers, threatening targets including Diego Garcia Island, the U.S. airbase involved in the failed Operation Eagle Claw in Tabas. In 1979, U.S. commandos attempted to rescue 53 American diplomats held hostage by students known as "followers of the Imam" after their helicopters landed in the Tabas desert. However, a sandstorm was so severe that the operation failed, and one of the American helicopters collided with a U.S. transport plane and caught fire. Mr. Rezaei emphasized that if the range of Iran's missiles increases, "America" will regret its actions against the Islamic Republic and will "realize" that actions such as sanctions "bring no benefit." Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a formal letter to the Iranian president on October 21, emphasized that during the entire eight-year period, the imposition of any sanctions "at any level and for any reason," including "terrorism and human rights" by negotiating countries, will be considered a violation of the Vienna nuclear agreement, and the government is obliged to halt the implementation of this agreement. In recent weeks, some Islamic Republic officials, including Sadegh Amoli Larijani, the head of the judiciary, have stated that actions by the "U.S. government," including the travel restriction bill to the United States, are "in practice a violation" of the Vienna nuclear agreement. Meanwhile, eight Iranian parliament members, including Ahmad Tavakoli, Elias Naderan, and Ismail Kowsari, have written to Hassan Rouhani requesting an official government position regarding the travel restriction bill to the U.S. and the withdrawal from "the frozen account of the Iranian government for the hostage crisis in 1979." These representatives have demanded that if these actions violate the Vienna nuclear agreement, the government should take "necessary actions," and if the government believes that it does not violate the agreement, it should clearly state its reasons. In the U.S. federal budget for 2016, which was approved by Congress, $4.4 million has been allocated for 52 diplomats or their survivors who were taken hostage in Tehran by the students known as "followers of the Imam." According to the New York Times, this compensation will be funded from the $9 billion fine imposed on BNP Paribas Bank in Paris for violating sanctions against Iran, Sudan, and Cuba. The report states that $1 billion of the $9 billion fine will also be set aside for compensating victims of terrorism, but more assets and properties may potentially be considered for future claims. One of the mentioned sources for adding to the fund includes the frozen assets of the Central Bank of Iran, which is disputed in the Peterson case. A few years ago, Deborah Peterson, the sister of one of the victims of the 1983 Beirut bombing, and the families of other victims requested compensation from the assets of the Central Bank of Iran after learning about their existence in Citibank, New York. The Obama administration ordered the seizure of the Central Bank's assets in Citibank about three years ago, but Iran is seeking a reconsideration of this decision, and the U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear Iran's arguments in the appellate court next month. If the Supreme Court's final ruling is not in favor of the Central Bank, then more than $2 billion of this bank's assets could also be added to the compensation fund for American victims of state-sponsored terrorism.