Iran military official says Tehran set to unveil long-range cruise missile

HAARETZ

Iran will be unveiling a new type of independently-produced long-range cruise missile, a top Iranian official was cited as saying on Sunday, adding that the new projectile could be launched from land, sea, and air.

The report by Iran's state-run television network Press TV came after, last week, the commander of the army's air defense force said that Iran has built about 30 percent of a missile defense system it is developing in place of the Russian S-300 system Moscow refused to sell it.

Farzad Esmaili, speaking to the Iranian ISNA news agency, also reiterated that Iran will hold a large-scale air defense exercise in the next two months covering the whole country.

Speaking to Press TV on Sunday, Iranian Deputy Defense Minister Mehdi Farahi said that the Islamic Republic was set to unveil a homegrown medium-range cruise missile in the near future.

“Meshkat cruise missile, which God willing will be unveiled soon, has a range of more than 2,000 kilometers," Farahi said, adding that the new weapon will be "the upper hand of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran."

According to the Iranian military official, the “Meshkat cruise missile will have submarine-, ground- and air-launched properties and could also be fired from a warplane."

Iran, under mounting pressure from Israel and Western powers over its controversial nuclear program, has unveiled upgrades to weapons systems and held several military exercises this year to demonstrate its ability to defend itself.