TEHRAN: Iran on Sunday unveiled a new solid-fuel ballistic missile with a range of 1,200 kilometres (745 miles), state television reported, at a time of rising tensions with the West.
“The solid propellant Ghassem Basir ballistic missile has a range of at least 1,200 kilometres and is Iran’s latest defence achievement,“ the broadcaster said.
Western nations have raised concerns about Tehran’s missile capabilities, accusing it of destabilising the Middle East.
Iran supports the “axis of resistance” network of militant groups opposed to Israel, including Yemen’s Huthi rebels, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Shiite armed groups in Iraq.
In October last year, Iran and its sworn enemy Israel attacked each other directly for the first time.
Israel struck military sites in Iran in response to an Iranian missile attack on October 1, itself launched in retaliation for the killing of Iran-backed militant leaders and a Revolutionary Guards commander.
On Sunday, Iranian state television broadcast footage of the new missile during an interview with Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh.
“If we are attacked and war is waged against us, we will respond with force and will target their interests and their bases,“ Nasirzadeh said.
“We hold no animosity towards neighbouring states, but American bases are our targets,“ he said.
The new missile was shown after Tehran and Washington held Oman-mediated talks on Iran’s nuclear programme on three consecutive Saturdays from April 12.
They were the highest level contacts since the United States withdrew in 2018 from a landmark agreement with world powers on Iran’s nuclear programme.
On Thursday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in an interview with Fox News called on Iran to “walk away” from uranium enrichment, saying “the only countries in the world that enrich uranium are the ones that have nuclear weapons”.
On April 27, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a credible deal must “remove Iran’s capacity to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons” and prevent the development of ballistic missiles.
Tehran denies seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, insisting that its nuclear ambitions are entirely peaceful and for civilian purposes.
It has ruled out discussions with Washington on its military and defence capabilities, including its ballistic missile programme.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to attack Iran if diplomacy fails and has imposed additional sanctions targeting the country’s oil sector.
