Iran Test Fires Ballistic Missiles in Show of Deterrent Power

Local Editor

Iran said Tuesday its armed forces conducted new ballistic missile tests to demonstrate "deterrent power" and the country's "all-out readiness to confront threats" against its territorial integrity.

The announcement was carried by the official IRNA news agency, describing a military drill in which "ballistic missiles were fired from silos" in different parts of the country.

The latest tests, called "The Power of Velayat", a reference to the religious doctrine of the Islamic republic's leadership, were undertaken by the Revolutionary Guards and Aerospace Forces, IRNA reported.

In parallel, Sepah News, the Guards' official media service, issued a statement confirming the missile tests, which come less than two weeks after elections in Iran delivered gains to politicians aligned with the country's president Sheikh Hassan Rouhani.

In a related context, Washington imposed new sanctions over Iran's missile program in January, almost immediately after lifting separate sanctions related to the Islamic Republic's nuclear program under the nuclear deal, following ballistic missile tests carried out in October of the new Emad guided ballistic missile.

Iranian Defense Minister Hussein Dehghan announced last month mass production of the Emad missile, a medium-range rocket capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, would begin in the near future.

"The Emad missile is not a violation of the nuclear deal or any UN resolution since we will never use a nuclear warhead [on it]." Dehghan explained.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team