Iran unveils its new ballistic missile capable of reaching Israeli territory
Iran announced on Wednesday the development of a new third-generation long-range ballistic missile, a day after launching the resumption of the 2015 Nuclear Deal multilateral negotiations in Vienna after several days of pause. The weapon was unveiled at an Islamic Revolutionary Guard airbase during an aerial tour by Air and Missile Forces Commander General Amir-Ali Hajizadeh. The missile announcement coincided with celebrations marking the 43rd anniversary of the triumph of the Islamic Revolution led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
The Guardians' website, Sepah News, said the new missile was named Kheibar Shekan, in English "destroyer of castles", a reference to the victorious war of the Prophet Muhammad during the 7th century. "The missile has a range of 1,450 kilometres, runs on solid fuel and is capable of penetrating anti-aircraft defence systems." "Its manoeuvrability and extreme speed allows it to hit targets within a radius of 1,450 km," Sepah News added. "The strategic weapon is a third-generation long-range missile developed by the Revolutionary Guards, powered by solid fuel and with the ability to penetrate anti-missile shields," Tasnim news agency reported.
Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of the Irani armed forces, described the missile as a "long-range" strategic missile capable of reaching Israeli territory. Iran's western border is about 1,000 kilometres from the Holy Land. The enmity between the two nations is well known internationally, as are the constant warnings exchanged.
Bagheri declared earlier in the week that Iran was "self-sufficient in terms of military equipment" and stressed that the nation was powerful enough to become a major arms exporter as long as sanctions imposed by the US administration were lifted. "Iran's development and proliferation of ballistic missiles is a threat to international security and a major non-proliferation challenge," Jalina Porter, a spokeswoman for US diplomacy in Washington, responded to Bagheri's remarks. "The United States plans to continue to use a variety of tools to prevent any further progress on Iran's missile programme," she added.
Iran is not the first time it has announced the development of ballistic missiles. In 2019, it claimed to have tested a cruise missile with a range of more than 1,350 km, which was a complete success. In contrast, on 24 December, Tehran carried out a series of military manoeuvres for five days, including the launch of 16 ballistic missiles, which was taken as a warning by the Iranian generals. In fact, Israel recently carried out a simulated attack on Persian nuclear facilities.
Meanwhile, talks resumed again in Vienna on Tuesday, the eighth round in Iran's negotiations with Germany, China, the United States, the United Kingdom and Russia, with the main objective being the US return to the deal and Tehran's compliance with the pact. Both nations are optimistic about the new dialogue, but the Iranians insist on the lifting of sanctions imposed during Donald Trump's tenure.
According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), the Islamic Republic has about 20 types of ballistic missiles, as well as cruise missiles and drones. "Iran will continue to increase the quality and quantity of missiles to confront the aggressors of global arrogance and murderous Zionists," said General Mohamed Bagheri, head of the Israeli armed forces, referring to Israel and the United States.
Over the past four decades, the country has developed a large domestic arms industry, and its ballistic programme is one of the largest in the Middle East alongside those of Israel and Saudi Arabia. It has also shown great interest in developing missiles, which have a defensive and deterrent function, as Tehran has stated on several occasions.