`Iran is a capable adversary, they possess the ability to attack and threaten American lives. We are considering adding defense systems to the area, which could include a missile shield

The statement was made after Iran launched a series of ballistic missiles at two US military bases stationed in Iraq in the early morning of January 8 in response to the airstrike that killed General Qassem Soleimani.

Iran released video of missile launch at US base

Iranian missiles left the launch pad early on the morning of January 8.

Satellite images from Planet Labs show that Iranian ballistic missiles fell at four locations at Ain al-Asad air base on the outskirts of Baghdad.

Despite the heavy attack, Iran’s ballistic missiles did not fall into the shelters of US soldiers and the coalition fighting the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) at both bases.

`Those are not ordinary ballistic missiles. They use high-precision guided weapons. Iran does not want American bloodshed,` said Tom Karako, director of the Missile Defense Project of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Iran’s ballistic missile left the launch pad early on the morning of January 8.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard used Qiam-1 and Fateh-110 missiles for this attack.

They are equipped with inertial and satellite navigation systems, and optical-electronic probes to increase accuracy.

The Pentagon rejected the assertion that Iran deliberately avoided locations with US and Iraqi soldiers, while promoting the role of surveillance systems and affirming that US soldiers had enough time to reach shelters.

However, it cannot be ignored that Iran chose ballistic missiles to carry out the attack, instead of using cruise missiles and long-range unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) like the attack on Saudi Arabian oil plants last year.

Iran focuses on developing offensive missiles to compensate for its air force deficit compared to the US and its allies.

Iran’s missile array can cover the entire Middle East.

Tehran possesses ballistic missiles with a range of over 2,000 km, along with Soumar cruise missiles that can hit targets from a distance of 2,500 km.

`The most important message sent to the US shows that Iranian missiles are strong enough to penetrate the US air defense shield. Those are warning shots,` said professor Mohammad Marandi at Tehran University.