Iran in 'Successful Test' of New Cruise Missile on Revolution Anniversary

Iran announced the "successful test" of a new cruise missile with a range of over 1,350 kilometres on Saturday, coinciding with celebrations for the country's 1979 Islamic revolution.

“The test of the Hoveizeh cruise missile was carried out successfully at a range of 1,200 kilometres (840 miles) and accurately hit the set target," Defense Minister Amir Hatami said, quoted on state television which broadcast footage of its launch.

“It can be ready in the shortest possible time and flies at a very low altitude," he said.

Hatami described the Hoveizeh as the "long arm of the Islamic Republic of Iran" in defending itself.

It is part of the Soumar group of cruise missiles, first unveiled in 2015 with a range of 700 kilometres, according to the minister.

The Hoveizeh unveiling was part of an arms exhibition dubbed "40 years of defensive achievements" and held in Tehran.

Friday marked the beginning of 10 days of celebrations of the Islamic revolution that ousted the pro-Western shah.

On Thursday, thousands of Iranians had packed the mausoleum of the Islamic republic's founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Iran has voluntarily limited the range of its missiles to 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles), but this is still sufficient to reach Israel and Western bases in the Middle East.

Washington and its allies have accused Tehran of pursuing enhanced missile capabilities that also threaten Europe.

Iran has "no intention of increasing the range" of its missiles, the country's Supreme National Security Council secretary, Admiral Ali Shamkhani, said Tuesday.

'Purely Defensive'

Iran reined in most of its nuclear program under a landmark 2015 deal with major powers but has kept up development of its ballistic missile technology.

US President Donald Trump's administration pulled out of the nuclear accord in May and reimposed sanctions against Iran, citing the missile program among its reasons.

European governments have stuck by the 2015 agreement, although some have demanded an addition to address Iran's ballistic missile program and its intervention in regional conflicts including Yemen.

UN Security Council Resolution 2231—adopted just after the nuclear deal—calls on Iran "not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons".

The US has repeatedly accused Iran of violating the resolution.

But Tehran denies seeking any nuclear weapons capability, and insists that its missile development program is "purely defensive" and compliant with the resolution.

Iran's space program has also been criticized by the West, with Washington charging that an abortive satellite launch in mid-January was cover for a bid to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile capability.

Iran tried unsuccessfully to put a satellite into orbit on January 15 and plans to "vigorously carry on" and make a second attempt, Shamkhani said.

Iran's newly-tested missile takes its name from a city in the southwestern province of Khuzestan that was devastated in the 1980-1988 war against Saddam Hussein's Iraq.

Several Iranian cities were battered by missiles during the eight-year conflict in a bombing campaign dubbed the "war of the cities".

Iranian officials say Western sanctions have starved its air force of spare parts and replacement aircraft, limiting its operational capacity and forcing it to rely on the missile program.

As Iranians marked the anniversary of the revolution, the US on Saturday lashed out at the country's leadership, insisting it had failed to make good on pledges to improve the lives of ordinary people.

"When he returned to Iran in 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini made lots of promises to the Iranian people, including justice, freedom, and prosperity," the US State Department said on Twitter. 

"40 years later, Iran's ruling regime has broken all those promises."

Photo Credit: IRNA

Iran Unveils First Domestic Fighter Jet

Iran unveiled its first domestic fighter jet on Tuesday, with President Hassan Rouhani insisting that Tehran's military strength was only designed to deter enemies and create "lasting peace".

Images on state television showed Rouhani sitting in the cockpit of the new "Kowsar" fourth-generation fighter at the National Defence Industry exhibition in Tehran.

State media said it had "advanced avionics" and multi-purpose radar, and that it was "100-percent indigenously made" for the first time.

Footage of the Kowsar's test flights was circulated by various official media.

But live footage of the plane taxiing along a runway at the defense show was cut before it could take off. 

"When I speak of our readiness to defend, it means we seek lasting peace. If we lack readiness, we welcome war," Rouhani said in a televised speech shortly after.

"Some think when we increase our military power, this means we seek war. (But) this is peace-seeking because we don't want war to happen," he added.

"If we don't have a deterrent... it gives a green light for others to enter this country."

The plane was first publicly announced on Saturday by Defense Minister Amir Hatami, who had said it would be unveiled on Wednesday.

He gave few details of the project, focusing instead on Iran's efforts to upgrade its missile defenses.

Hatami said the defence programme was motivated by memories of the missile attacks Iran suffered during its eight-year war with Iraq in the 1980s, and by repeated threats from Israel and the United States that "all options are on the table" in dealing with the Islamic republic.

"We have learned in the (Iran-Iraq) war that we cannot rely on anyone but ourselves," he said in a televised interview.

The US has sold hundreds of billions of dollars of weapons to Iran's regional rivals, but has demanded that Tehran curb its defense programs, and is in the process of reimposing crippling sanctions in a bid to force its capitulation.

Rouhani said Iran must show restraint as well as deterrence, in an apparent swipe at his hardline opponents who seek to provoke the US with aggressive slogans. 

"With a couple of sentences one can start a fight. With a couple of military moves one can enter confrontation. But then it will be costly," he said. 

"The skill is to protect the country with minimum cost," he said

That mirrored a line from the defence minister, who said on Saturday: "Our resources are limited and we are committed to establishing security at a minimum cost."

Following the withdrawal of the United States from the 2015 nuclear deal in May, Iran has avoided an aggressive response and sought to maintain its good will with other international partners who oppose Washington's move.

Rouhani said US pressure was also a spur to action.

"Why does America impose economic sanctions on us? Why does it impose them on Turkey? Why does it drag China into an economic war? Because it feels each one of them has a weak point. We must fix our weak points."

Photo Credit: IRNA