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IRGC Second-in-Command General Ali Fadavi said in an October 3, 2020 interview on Channel 5 (Iran) that Iran has missiles with 1,500-kilogram warheads and a range of 2,000 kilometers that can accurately land in a 6-square-meter area. He said that Iran has naval vessels that can travel at 92 knots, and that they are developing ones that will be able to travel at over 100 knots. In addition, General Fadavi said that in 2011, the IRGC had begun forcing vessels in the Persian Gulf, including American vessels, to speak Farsi. He added that Americans do not understand the meaning of God, Islam, truth, or martyrdom, but that they do understand force, missiles, and speedboats. In a September 24 interview on Ofogh TV (Iran), General Fadavi said that the range of Iran's missiles are limited by the political decision of Supreme Leader Khamenei and not by technological constraints.
General Ali Fadavi, October 3: "Look, how many square meters is this place where we are sitting? This area where we are sitting... A few years ago... Actually, it was a few decades ago, our leader told us to work on the accuracy of our 2,000-km-range missiles. Our missiles are not meant for mass destruction. These missiles are meant to hit the target like a shot by a sniper. This is how the missile should hit the target. What missile? A missile with a 2,000-kilometer range, and with a warhead of, let's say, 1,500 kilograms. Where should the missile land? On a 6-square-meter target. This is the situation with our missiles, now. You asked about missiles, but this is true in all fields. When it comes to navies... In 2020 – 2021, in all the navies in the world, vessels faster than 35 knots are still meaningless."
Interviewer: "We have [vessels] that can go 80 knots..."
Fadavi: "It has been two years and a month since I left the [IRGC] navy. When I was in the navy, I tested a missile launching vessel that could go 92 knots, at a buoyant force of 3 and 4. In other words, it had a velocity of over 176 kilometers per hour. And we are talking about the sea, not about a flat highway on land. At sea, you cannot control the waves. And soon, we will get to 100 knots. With regard to those 100-knot vessels, the planning, the building, the raw materials, the missiles, the fire-control systems, the communication systems – they are all made in Iran."
[...]
Interviewer: "You said that you forced all the foreign ships navigating in the Persian Gulf to speak Persian."
Fadavi: "One day, and this was at the beginning of 2011, we said that this was the "Persian" Gulf, so why should they speak English? In the Persian Gulf, one should speak Persian. We said that we would enforce this. There was no order from above. At the [IRGC] navy, we told our control centers, which were in frequent contact with the American ships, that this is the Persian Gulf and from now on they must speak Persian. Since then, as you know, the Americans, and then others as well, have posted Persian speakers on their vessels."
Interviewer: "Wow."
Fadavi: "They are not Iranians, but they speak Persian. These Americans are fluent in Persian."
Interviewer: "Even now?"
Fadavi: "It is still like that. Obviously, we have not 100% implemented this, because if we had, our guys would have neglected their English. We wanted... I am being serious..."
Interviewer: "You wanted to preserve their English?"
Fadavi: "We wanted all our guys to master the English language, so we told them to alternate between English and Persian, but mostly Persian."
[...]
"The expression the [Americans] use more than any other is 'yes, sir.' Look, these are the aircraft carriers of America that considers itself to be a global superpower.
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"Do the Americans understand the meaning of God? They do not. Do they understand the meaning of Islam? They do not. Do they understand the meaning of truth? The meaning of a martyr? They do not. But they do understand force. They understand what missiles mean. They understand what speedboats mean. When the USS Samuel B. Roberts was on the verge of sinking, every American serviceman felt it to the bottom of his soul. But they do not understand religious matters."
[...]
Fadavi, September 24: "In your opinion, since World War II, how many naval vessels have been hit in all the world's wars?"
Interviewer: "The American Corvette vessels? Almost all of them."
Fadavi: "I'm talking about all the wars in the world, and not just American or European vessels. How many naval vessels have been hit in all the wars in the world? Fewer than 50. How many do you think have been hit by the front of justice of the Islamic Revolution, whether during the [Iran-Iraq] war or since then?"
Interviewer: "How many?"
Fadavi: "Guess."
Interviewer: "Fifteen or sixteen."
Fadavi: "No. More than 30."
Interviewer: "So more than 75% of all the vessels [that have been hit]."
[...]
Fadavi: "These vessels were hit by the Islamic Revolution and by its center [Iran] or by those who dedicated themselves to the Islamic Revolution. And don't just think that these vessels belonged to just any country – they belonged to the Americans and the Europeans.
[...]
"Our [missile range] is not limited due to scientific or technological reasons. We follow the principle, according to which there can be no opposing opinion to the one expressed by our Imam [Khamenei]. The IRGC operates according to this principle. The Leader decided that our surface-to-surface missiles should have a range of 2,000 kilometers.
[...]
"There is no scientific or technological limit with regard to [the range] of our surface-to-surface and cruise missiles. This includes surface-to-surface cruise missiles, anti-ship cruise missiles, and anti-warship cruise missiles."
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