Iran has reproduced what it described as two new ones ballistic and cruise missiles, in contrast to US calls that Tehran stop its missile program.
The surface-to-surface ballistic missile has a range of 1,400 kilometers, while the cruise missile has a range of more than 1,000 kilometers, Defense Minister Amir Hatami said in a televised speech on August 20.
President Hassan Rohani said on state television that Iran “defends military power and missile programs” and “presents no danger to other countries.”
Images of the two rockets – named after Qasem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis – were shown on state TV.
Soleimani, a major general led by the Iranian elite Quds Force, and Muhandis, an Iraqi military commander, were assassinated in January in a U.S. strike at Baghdad airport, resulting in a dramatic escalation in tensions between the United States and Iran.
Iranian officials routinely discover what they describe as technological achievements for the country’s army.
The country’s latest announcement comes as US Prime Minister Mike Pompeo is expected to formally inform the UN Security Council later in the day that the United States intends to begin the process of imposing UN sanctions on Iran. restore.
The move comes after the Security Council rejected Washington’s bid to extend an arms embargo on Iran that expired in October under the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.
The United States withdrew from the agreement in 2018 and re-imposed crippling sanctions on Iran.
Washington says it wants Iran to agree to a new pact that would set stricter limits on its nuclear work and limit its missile program.
Iranian officials have rejected talks as long as US sanctions remain in place.
By the radio Farda of RFE / RL
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