Iran says it has developed long-range cruise missile

Iran has developed a cruise missile with a range of 1,650 km (1,025 miles) a top Revolutionary Guards commander said on Friday, in a move likely to raise Western concerns after Russia’s use of Iranian drones in the Ukraine war.

“Our cruise missile with a range of 1,650 km has been added to the missile arsenal of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Amirali Hajizadeh, the head of the Revolutionary Guards Aerospace Force, told state TV.

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The television broadcast what it said was the first footage showing the new Paveh cruise missile.

Iran has expanded its missile program, particularly its ballistic missiles, in defiance of opposition from the United States and expressions of concern by European countries. Tehran says the program is purely defensive and of a deterrent nature.

Iran has said it had supplied Moscow with drones before the war in Ukraine. Russia has used the drones to target power stations and civilian infrastructure.

In November, the Pentagon said the United States was skeptical of reports quoting Hajizadeh as saying Iran had developed a hypersonic ballistic missile.

Read more: Russia may provide Iran with fighter jets, Tehran also wants attack helicopters: US