Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
New Iranian Kheibarshekan missiles are seen in an undisclosed location in Iran, in this picture obtained on February 9 2022. Picture: IRGC/WANA via REUTERS
Iran unveiled a new domestically made missile with a range of 1,450km on Wednesday, state TV reported a day after Tehran and Washington resumed indirect talks to salvage a 2015 nuclear deal.
Iran, which has one of the biggest missile programmes in the Middle East, says its ballistic missiles have a range of up to 2,000km and can reach arch-foe Israel and US bases in the region.
State TV displayed the new surface-to-surface “Kheibar Shekan” (Kheibar buster) missile, which refers to an ancient Jewish oasis called Kheibar in the Arabian Peninsula’s Hijaz region that was overrun by Muslim warriors in the seventh century.
“This long-range missile is domestically manufactured by the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) ... It has high accuracy and is propelled by solid fuel and is capable of penetrating missile shields,” Iranian state media reported.
Tehran regards its missile programme as an important deterrent against the US, Israel and other adversaries. It has rejected Western demands to halt its ballistic missile work.
“Iran will continue advancing its ballistic missile programme,” Iran's armed forces chief of staff Maj Gen Mohammad Bagheri said at a ceremony at an IRGC base where the new missile was displayed, Iranian media reported.
Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia, a regional rival of Shi’ite-led Iran, has repeatedly called on major powers to address Gulf Arab concern about Tehran’s missiles.
Israel, which the Islamic Republic does not recognise, has long threatened military action against Iran if the talks in Vienna fail to curb Tehran’s nuclear work. Iran says its nuclear ambitions are peaceful.
In 2018, then-US president Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal — designed to stop Iran developing a nuclear weapon — and reimposed sanctions in a bid to force Tehran into talks on a broader agreement that would also have addressed its ballistic missile programme and support for proxies in the Middle East.
Iran responded a year later by gradually breaching the pact’s nuclear limits, rebuilding stockpiles of enriched uranium, refining it to higher fissile purity and installing advanced centrifuges to speed up output.
Indirect talks between Tehran and Washington to revive the deal started after Joe Biden replaced Trump in the White House, but despite eight rounds since April differences remain between Iran and world powers.
Tehran and Washington have blamed each other for lack of progress.
“Voices from the US government show there is no coherence in that country to make political decisions in the direction of advancing the Vienna talks,” Iran’s top security official Ali Shamkhani tweeted on Wednesday.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Iran unveils new long-range missile
Iran unveiled a new domestically made missile with a range of 1,450km on Wednesday, state TV reported a day after Tehran and Washington resumed indirect talks to salvage a 2015 nuclear deal.
Iran, which has one of the biggest missile programmes in the Middle East, says its ballistic missiles have a range of up to 2,000km and can reach arch-foe Israel and US bases in the region.
State TV displayed the new surface-to-surface “Kheibar Shekan” (Kheibar buster) missile, which refers to an ancient Jewish oasis called Kheibar in the Arabian Peninsula’s Hijaz region that was overrun by Muslim warriors in the seventh century.
“This long-range missile is domestically manufactured by the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) ... It has high accuracy and is propelled by solid fuel and is capable of penetrating missile shields,” Iranian state media reported.
Tehran regards its missile programme as an important deterrent against the US, Israel and other adversaries. It has rejected Western demands to halt its ballistic missile work.
“Iran will continue advancing its ballistic missile programme,” Iran's armed forces chief of staff Maj Gen Mohammad Bagheri said at a ceremony at an IRGC base where the new missile was displayed, Iranian media reported.
Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia, a regional rival of Shi’ite-led Iran, has repeatedly called on major powers to address Gulf Arab concern about Tehran’s missiles.
Israel, which the Islamic Republic does not recognise, has long threatened military action against Iran if the talks in Vienna fail to curb Tehran’s nuclear work. Iran says its nuclear ambitions are peaceful.
In 2018, then-US president Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal — designed to stop Iran developing a nuclear weapon — and reimposed sanctions in a bid to force Tehran into talks on a broader agreement that would also have addressed its ballistic missile programme and support for proxies in the Middle East.
Iran responded a year later by gradually breaching the pact’s nuclear limits, rebuilding stockpiles of enriched uranium, refining it to higher fissile purity and installing advanced centrifuges to speed up output.
Indirect talks between Tehran and Washington to revive the deal started after Joe Biden replaced Trump in the White House, but despite eight rounds since April differences remain between Iran and world powers.
Tehran and Washington have blamed each other for lack of progress.
“Voices from the US government show there is no coherence in that country to make political decisions in the direction of advancing the Vienna talks,” Iran’s top security official Ali Shamkhani tweeted on Wednesday.
Reuters
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most Read
Related Articles
The minds behind North Korea’s missile programme
UAE intercepts two ballistic missiles fired by Houthi
Yemen Houthis claim strike on UAE fuel supplies
Washington is scrutinising Alibaba’s cloud unit, say sources
Houthis seize cargo ship off the coast of Yemen
Countries need ‘common strategy’ on Iran, Sullivan tells Bennett
Published by Arena Holdings and distributed with the Financial Mail on the last Thursday of every month except December and January.