Speaking before the US House Armed Services Committee, General Gregory Guillot - Commander of the US Northern Command - said that Iran's space program has been "erased" after joint attacks between the US and its ally Israel.
According to assessments from the Pentagon, the most feasible path for Tehran to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) capable of reaching US territory has been completely eliminated.
Military experts have found that the destruction of this satellite launch infrastructure has deprived Iran of its ability to directly threaten US domestic security in the near future, due to the two programs sharing a core technical platform.
The large-scale military campaign launched by the US and Israel on February 28 targeted many strategic targets in major cities, including the capital Tehran. The White House explained this attack by the risks from the nuclear and missile programs they detected from Iran.
The conflict escalated to a climax when Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and many other senior officials died, pushing the regional situation into an unprecedented chaotic state. The destruction of the space program is seen as putting an end to Tehran's ambition to extend its firepower beyond the Middle East region.
In response, Iran carried out a series of widespread attacks targeting US and Israeli military facilities in Gulf allied countries such as Bahrain, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
Observers believe that although the US has declared that it has eliminated the threat from the space program, the price to pay is deep instability throughout the region.
Maintaining security for US and allied bases against the wave of asymmetric retaliation is becoming the biggest challenge to date for the Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
Currently, the US is making efforts to persuade partner countries about a new security order. However, detecting and preventing potential risks from pro-Iranian forces is still a top priority for allied forces in the Middle East.
