A top Israeli official is claiming an Iranian missile site destroyed in an explosion last year was producing missiles capable of reaching the United States. Moshe Ya’alon, Israel’s deputy prime minister and minister for strategic affairs, made the assertion in a speech on Thursday.

Moshe Ya’alon: “The explosion in the research and development installation for the Iranian missile system was for a system that was preparing to produce or develop a missile with a range of 10,000 kilometers. This is for 'the great Satan,' the United States, America, and not us, and therefore, it’s not just a threat against Israel. So when we reach the discussion of a nuclear weapon in the hands of this regime, we need to look at it within this perspective.”

U.S. officials have cast doubt on Ya’alon’s claims, saying Iran is nowhere close to producing missiles capable of hitting U.S. soil.