Iran's defense minister: Won't ask anyone's permission to produce missiles
Brig. Gen. Amir Hatami says the new Khorramshahr missile, allegedly able to carry multiple warheads, can 'evade the enemy's air defense line and be guided from the moment of launch until the target is hit.'
The Khorramshahr, a new ballistic missile tested by Iran, can "evade the enemy's air defense line and be guided from the moment of launch until the target is hit," the country's defense minister said Saturday.
“On the path to improve our country’s defensive capacity we will certainly not be the least affected by any threats and we won’t ask anyone’s permission for producing various kinds of missile," Brig. Gen. Amir Hatami added in a television address.
State broadcaster IRIB carried footage of the missile test on Saturday without giving its time and location. It included video from an on-board camera which it said showed the detachment of the cone that carries multiple warheads.
“You are seeing images of the successful test of the Khorramshahr ballistic missile with a range of 2,000 km, the latest missile of our country,” state television said, adding this was Iran’s third missile with a range of 2,000 km.
“The weight of the Khorramshahr missile’s warhead has been announced to be 1,800 kg (4,000 lbs), ... making it Iran’s most powerful missile for defense and retaliation against any aggressive enemy,” state television said.
The Khorramshahr missile was first displayed at a military parade on Friday, where President Hassan Rouhani said Iran would strengthen its missile capabilities.
The footage of the missile test was released only days after US President Donald Trump told the UN General Assembly on Tuesday that Iran was building its missile capability and accused it of exporting violence to Yemen, Syria and other parts of the Middle East.
He also criticized a 2015 pact that the United States and other world powers struck with Iran under which Tehran agreed to restrict its nuclear program in return for relief from economic sanctions.
The United States has imposed unilateral sanctions on Iran, saying its missile tests violate a UN resolution, which calls on Tehran not to undertake activities related to missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons. Iran says it has no such plans.
Britain, meanwhile, voiced concerns about the latest test. “Extremely concerned by reports of Iran missile test, which is inconsistent with UN resolution 2231. Call on Iran to halt provocative acts,” British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson wrote on Twitter.
