Iran has unveiled a new cruise missile with a range of 1,300 kilometres as it begins to mark the 40th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, a move that will increase concerns in the West about Tehran’s ballistic missile programme.
Against a backdrop of US warnings since the Trump administration pulled out of a deal on Iran’s separate nuclear programme in May last year, Tehran has continued to expand its missile programme.
The country says its new Hoveizeh surface-to-surface missile, shown being fired from a mobile launcher in a video shared over the weekend by the defence ministry, can be deployed in a short time period and fly at low altitudes. The projectile is part of the Soumar family of cruise missiles that were added to the country’s arsenal in 2015 and the video said it hit a target at a distance of 1,200 km.
Amirali Hajizadeh, head of the Revolutionary Guard aerospace division, said Iran had overcome initial problems in producing jet engines for cruise missiles and could now manufacture a full range of the weapons.
Experts say that Iran has a history of overinflating its capabilities but warn that concerns over Iran’s long-range ballistic missile development are founded.
In recent weeks, the argument between Iran and European nations over Tehran’s missile program has increased. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on January 25 that Paris was ready to impose further sanctions on Iran if no progress was made in talks over their programme.
But Iran then issued conflicting statements initially saying there were no public or secret talks taking place with France or anyone else regarding their missile programme. It later said it simply could not confirm that talks were taking place with Paris.