News Flash
TEHRAN, Feb 2, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Iran revealed a new ballistic missile on
Sunday that it said was capable of travelling 1,700 kilometres, unveiling it
in a Tehran ceremony attended by President Masoud Pezeshkian.
State television broadcast images of the missile, dubbed Etemad, or "trust"
in Persian, saying it had a maximum range of 1,700 kilometres (1,056 miles)
and was "the most recent ballistic missile" built by the Iranian defence
ministry.
Western countries have grown concerned over advances in Iran's ballistic
missile programme, accusing it of destabilising the Middle East.
Iran's missiles, including this newest design, are capable of reaching its
arch-foe Israel, which it targeted twice last year as the Gaza war spilled
over.
"The development of defence capabilities and space technologies... aims to
ensure that no country dares to attack Iranian territory," Pezeshkian said in
a televised address.
The ceremony took place on Iran's national aerospace day and a few days
before the 46th anniversary of the creation of the Islamic republic on
February 10, 1979.
Since the return of US President Donald Trump -- who pursued a "maximum
pressure" approach to Iran in his first term -- Tehran has made multiple
shows of force, including large-scale military exercises and the presentation
of underground military bases.
At the same time, Tehran has signalled its willingness to restart
negotiations over its nuclear programme, which has been the subject of
tensions with Western countries for decades.
Iran, which once sourced the majority of its military equipment from its
then-ally the United States, has been forced to develop its own weaponry
since Washington cut off ties and imposed sanctions in the wake of the 1979
Islamic Revolution.
Having been under an arms embargo during a devastating war with Iraq between
1980 and 1988, Iran now has a substantial arsenal of domestically developed
weapons, including missiles, air defence systems and drones.