Iran unveils new ballistic missile with 1,000 km range
On the 40th anniversary of Islamic Revolution, Iran unveils a new ballistic missile with a range of 1,000 kilometres.
2 min read
Revolutionary Guards commander Jafari who unveiled the new missile [AFP/Getty Images]
Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Thursday unveiled a new ballistic missile, their official news agency Sepah News reported.
The missile, which has a range of 1,000 kilometres, were revealed as the country celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.
The surface-to-surface missile, called Dezful, is an upgrade on the older Zolfaghar model that had a range of 700 kilometres, aerospace commander Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh said. Hajizadeh pointed to Dezful’s "destructive power" as being twice that of Zolfaghar.
The unveiling ceremony on Thursday was carried out by Revolutionary Commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari and Hajizadeh at an "underground ballistic missile production facility", the report said.
"Displaying this missile production facility deep underground is an answer to Westerners ... who think they can stop us from reaching our goals through sanctions and threats," Jafari was reported as saying.
This latest missile comes at a time of heightened tension between Iran and Western countries.
On Saturday, the Islamic Republic unveiled its new Hoveizeh cruise missile which has a reported range of more than 1,350 kilometres, enough to hit Israel.
In response to Hoveizeh the EU issued a rare joint statement saying it was "gravely concerned by Iran's ballistic missile activity", calling upon Iran "to refrain from these activities".
Having caused concern, Tehran maintains its missile tests are not in violation of its international agreements, is purely for the purpose of defence and that its missiles are not capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
The missile, which has a range of 1,000 kilometres, were revealed as the country celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.
The surface-to-surface missile, called Dezful, is an upgrade on the older Zolfaghar model that had a range of 700 kilometres, aerospace commander Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh said. Hajizadeh pointed to Dezful’s "destructive power" as being twice that of Zolfaghar.
The unveiling ceremony on Thursday was carried out by Revolutionary Commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari and Hajizadeh at an "underground ballistic missile production facility", the report said.
"Displaying this missile production facility deep underground is an answer to Westerners ... who think they can stop us from reaching our goals through sanctions and threats," Jafari was reported as saying.
This latest missile comes at a time of heightened tension between Iran and Western countries.
On Saturday, the Islamic Republic unveiled its new Hoveizeh cruise missile which has a reported range of more than 1,350 kilometres, enough to hit Israel.
In response to Hoveizeh the EU issued a rare joint statement saying it was "gravely concerned by Iran's ballistic missile activity", calling upon Iran "to refrain from these activities".
Having caused concern, Tehran maintains its missile tests are not in violation of its international agreements, is purely for the purpose of defence and that its missiles are not capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
Iran has voluntarily limited the range of its missiles to 2,000 kilometres, but that is still enough to hit Israel and US bases in the Middle East.
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