Tehran can target US cities from offshore positions, and every European country is already within range of Iranian missiles, an Iranian lawmaker in the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission said.
Amir Hayat-Moqaddam, who made the remarks on Sunday as Britain, France, and Germany have signaled they are ready to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran, told the Iranian outlet Didban Iran that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Aerospace Force has worked “for 20 years” to enable strikes “using Iranian warships and vessels.”
“We can move our ships to within 2,000 km. of the US and from there target Washington, New York, and other cities,” he said. “Right now, all European countries are within our range.”
The comments were amplified across Persian-language media, with Iran International summarizing Hayat-Moqaddam’s interview and noting the timing amid European moves toward the UN “snapback” mechanism.
The E3 – the UK, France, and Germany – have formally warned they are prepared to trigger snapback unless Iran returns to nuclear talks by the end of August, which would restore UN sanctions lifted under the 2015 deal. Reuters, the Financial Times, and AP reported the warning last week.
Iran has fielded a growing arsenal of cruise and ballistic missiles. Its long-range land-attack cruise missiles, such as the Hoveyzeh, are reported at about 1,350 km., while the naval “Abu Mahdi” cruise missile has been cited around 1,000 km. and inducted into service with Iran’s navy and IRGC Navy. Those ranges would not reach the US mainland from 2,000 km. offshore without additional standoff or forward basing.
Iran has demonstrated it can dispatch warships into the Atlantic — the Makran and Sahand did so in 2021 — but such blue-water missions are rare and challenging for Tehran’s aging fleet. The Sahand itself later sank in Bandar Abbas in 2024 after capsizing in port.
Recent combat record and escalation context
Iran’s missile and drone forces have shown significant reach and mass. In April 2024, Tehran launched hundreds of drones and missiles directly at Israel for the first time, most of which were intercepted by Israel and its allies. The episode underscored Iran’s capacity for large salvos, while also revealing air-defense challenges and coalition countermeasures.
US and allied forces have also tracked and countered Iranian maritime activity beyond the Gulf. Earlier this year, US officials acknowledged a cyber operation against an Iranian intelligence-gathering ship in the Red Sea region, part of wider friction at sea.
Hayat-Moqaddam’s threat appears calibrated for deterrence and domestic messaging as UN snapback looms. Iran’s known cruise-missile ranges and limited blue-water basing suggest practical obstacles to striking the US homeland from 2,000 km. at sea, although Tehran is steadily extending its naval missile envelope and has proven it can reach deep into the region with massed salvos.
Open evidence does not confirm a ship-launched capability that would enable the specific scenario he described.