The new missile dubbed Emad is the latest generation of Iran’s long-range ground-to-ground ballistic missiles, Dehghan said, the Iranian State IRINN TV reported October. 11.
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The test will likely further strain Iran’s relationship with oil-rich Arab monarchies, who argue that the Islamic Republic will use the July nuclear accord with world powers to expand its influence in the Middle East. Iranian lawmakers on Sunday passed a bill approving the general terms of the agreement, which places curbs on the country’s nuclear program in exchange of lifting global economic sanctions.
“The Emad missile is able to strike targets with a high level of precision and completely destroy them…This greatly increases Iran’s strategic deterrence capability”, Defence Minister Hossein Dehghan said at a televised news conference. Iran says its nuclear activity is wholly peaceful.
The channel showed footage of the huge missile being launched in a desert area, but it did not elaborate on the range of the missile or the specifics of the test firing. It said the new missile is precision guided and can be controlled until the moment of impact.
It is a variant of the liquid-fuelled Shahab-3 missile, in service since 2003, which has a similar range but is accurate only to within 2,000 metres.
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Since 1992, Iran has been manufacturing its own tanks, armored personnel carriers, missiles, radars, boats, submarines and fighter planes.
