Tehran Shows Off ‘Soleimani’ Ballistic Missile With Range of 1,400km

IRAN NEWS NATIONAL DESK

TEHRAN – Defence Ministry has unveiled a surface-to-surface ballistic missile, named after the late IRGC commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, with a range of 1,400 kilometres.

In a televised speech on Thursday, Defence Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami said the country has also unveiled a new homegrown cruise missile.

“The surface-to-surface missile, called martyr Qassem Soleimani, has a range of 1,400 km and the cruise missile, called martyr Abu Mahdi, has a range of over 1,000 km,” Hatami said.

Pictures of the new missiles, which were unveiled on the National Day of Defence Industry, were shown on state TV.

“The country’s achievements in the defense industry over the past four decades are not comparable to any other period,” said Hatami, describing the accomplishments as a “basis for military self-reliance and a must for [maintaining] the country’s independence.”

Commenting on the new achievement’s features, Iran’s Deputy Defense Minister Brigadier General Qassem Taqizadeh said the speed of the Martyr Qassem Soleimani missiles makes their interception impossible.

He added that the cruise missiles are capable of flying at a low altitude and getting around the enemy’s missile systems.

The new ballistic missile is an upgraded version of the pinpoint-accuracy missile Fateh-110, according to Tasnim.

General Soleimani, the commander of IRGC Quds Force, and Iraqi military commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis were assassinated in January in a US drone strike on their convoy in Baghdad airport.

Earlier, the Iranian president had noted that “missiles and particularly cruise missiles are very important for us … the fact that we have increased the range from 300 to 1,000 in less than two years is a great achievement.”

The new missiles were unveiled as the United States is pushing in vain to extend a UN-imposed arms embargo against Iran, which is due to expire in October under Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

Addressing the unveiling ceremony, President Hassan Rouhani reiterated that the Islamic Republic pursues a defence and deterrence strategy which poses no threat to any country in the region, especially Iran’s neighbors.

President Rouhani noted that Iran has never pursued a strategy of aggression.

“In the defence sector, whatever the Islamic Republic of Iran produces, and whatever research work it does, and whatever effort it makes and whatever preparations it makes, are all based on a deterrence and defence strategy,” said the president in a ceremony where several new achievements in the country’s defence sector were unveiled.

“We don’t intend to occupy any place. We don’t want to harm any nation. Our neighbours should rest assured that our defence power is in their interest,” he said.

“We will use our defence power to serve our friends’ interests. We won’t use it against them. Never ever in history, especially after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, has Iran initiated a war. We have always only defended ourselves,” he said.

The president also expressed gratitude to local defence experts for increasing the range of domestically developed marine cruise missiles from 300 to more than 1000 kilometres.

He said weapons produced in the country should have enough precision, destruction power and maneuverability.

He also said Iran’s skies should be as safe as it can be. “We should have a radar which, given the technologies used in stealth aircraft, does not miss any target.”

The president appreciated efforts by domestic experts which, as he said, have led Iran to reach self-sufficiency in numerous weapons and defence systems.