TEHRAN
\nIran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Wednesday announced the development of a surface-to-surface missile whose stated range would put arch-foe Israel within reach.
\nThe Guards\u2019 Sepahnews website said the missile was named the Khaybarchekan after a victorious battle fought by the Prophet Mohammed in the seventh century. Armed forces chief of staff Mohammad Bagheri described it as a strategic, \u201clong-range\u201d missile.
\nSepahnews said the missile has a range of 1,450 kilometres (about 900 miles), runs on solid fuel and is capable of penetrating anti-missile systems. It was unveiled during a visit to a surface-to-surface missile base of the Guards\u2019 air force, with the chief of the aerospace department Amirali Hajizadeh present.
\n\u201cIts manoeuvrability and extreme speed allow it to reach targets within a radius of 1,450 kilometres,\u201d the website said. The United States reacted by criticizing Iran\u2019s weapons development.
\n\u201cIran\u2019s development and proliferation of ballistic missiles poses a threat to the international security and remains a significant nonproliferation challenge,\u201d State Department spokeswoman Jalina Porter told reporters.
\n\u201cWe continue to use a variety of nonproliferation tools to prevent any further advancement of Iran\u2019s missile programme, and its ability to proliferate technology to others,\u201d Porter added.
\nIran has the largest arsenal of missiles in the Middle East.
\nOn December 24, the Islamic republic fired 16 ballistic missiles to conclude military drills described by generals as a warning to Israel.
\nThe Jewish state is located little more than 1,000 kilometres from Iran\u2019s western frontier.
\nBagheri said on Monday that Iran was \u201cself-sufficient in terms of military equipment\u201d, noting it could become one of the world\u2019s largest arms exporters if US sanctions were lifted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TEHRAN Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Wednesday announced the development of a surface-to-surface missile whose stated range would put arch-foe Israel within reach. The Guards\u2019 Sepahnews website said the missile was named the Khaybarchekan after a victorious battle fought by the Prophet Mohammed in the seventh century. Armed forces chief of staff Mohammad Bagheri […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-243770","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n