Iran Removes Limit on How Far Its Missiles Can Travel

Iran's Revolutionary Guard announced this week that it has removed a limit it had placed on how far its ballistic missiles could travel. For years, Iran had kept that limit at 2,000 kilometers, or about 1,200 miles. The news has raised concerns that Iran could try to build missiles able to strike targets much farther away. This announcement came as tensions between Iran, the United States, and Israel continue to grow.

A spokesman for Iran's Revolutionary Guard, Gen. Hossein Mohebbi, made the announcement at a press conference in Tehran. When reporters asked about the missile range limit, he simply said, 'That restriction has been lifted for us.' However, he did not confirm that Iran already has missiles that can fly beyond the old limit. He added that Iran would 'demonstrate these capabilities in practice' rather than just talk about them.

The announcement came just days after Iran's supreme leader warned that any threat from the U.S. or Israel would be met with a response that has 'no geographic limits.' At its old 2,000-kilometer range, Iran's missiles could already reach parts of Greece, the entire Arabian Peninsula, and most of Egypt. U.S. officials have said that technology from Iran's space program could be used to build intercontinental ballistic missiles, which can travel much farther. That possibility is one reason why the announcement has drawn so much attention from world leaders.

Also in the region, Iran's military said a tanker ship east of the Strait of Hormuz struck a naval mine and caught fire. The military did not say which country owned the ship or where it was headed. It noted that the tanker had turned off its navigational beacon and was sailing in a restricted area. The incident added to already high tensions in the region.

Meanwhile, heavy rains hit the Gaza Strip, making life even harder for more than 1.6 million Palestinians who are living in tents and makeshift shelters. The rain flooded fragile tents, soaked mattresses and belongings, and turned pathways into rivers of muddy water. Nearly the entire population of Gaza has lost their homes during Israel's military campaign. This marks the start of another brutal winter for people who have almost nothing left.

One displaced man, Majed Al-Omari, lost a limb during the war and had to struggle through the flooded camp on crutches after the rain tore apart his shelter. 'We will have to sleep in the street tonight, or find somewhere else to stay,' he said. His story is one of hundreds of thousands like it across the Gaza Strip.

The United Nations has reported that about 294,250 families in Gaza need help with shelter before winter gets worse. However, available supplies are only enough to help about 18% of those families. The U.N. said the shortage is caused by a lack of funding, slow purchasing processes, and delays in approvals from Israeli authorities. It warned that more supplies may not arrive until more than halfway through the winter season.