The deputy head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards has warned Europe that if it threatens Tehran, the Guards will increase the range of missiles to above 2000 kilometres.
"If we have kept the range of our missiles to 2000 kilometres, it's not due to lack of technology. ... We are following a strategic doctrine," Brigadier General Hossein Salami said on Saturday, according to the Fars news agency.
"So far we have felt that Europe is not a threat, so we did not increase the range of our missiles. But if Europe wants to turn into a threat, we will increase the range of our missiles," he added.
France has called for an "uncompromising" dialogue with Iran about its ballistic missile program and a possible negotiation over the issue separate from Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
Iran has repeatedly said its missile program is defensive and not negotiable.
The US accused Iran this month of supplying Yemen's Houthi rebels with a missile that was fired into Saudi Arabia in July and called for the UN to hold Tehran accountable for violating two UN Security Council resolutions.
Iran has denied supplying Houthis with missiles and weapons.
The head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, said last month that Iran's 2,000-kilometre missile range could cover "most of American interest and forces" within the region, and Iran does not need to extend it.
Jafari said the ballistic missile range was based on the limits set by the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is the head of armed forces.
Iran has one of the Middle East's largest missile programs and some of its precision-guided missiles have the range to strike Israel.
