Iran has unveiled two new missiles, state media reported Thursday, the same day Secretary of State Mike Pompeo traveled to the United Nations to start the process of restoring international sanctions on Iran.
The missiles, which were revealed on state television on Iran’s National Defense Industry Day, included one named after the country’s slain commander, Qasem Soleimani. Soleimani, who was the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, was killed in a US drone strike near Baghdad International Airport last January in an event that further escalated tensions between Washington and Tehran.
A surface-to-surface ballistic missile dubbed the “Martyr Hajj Qasem Soleimani” has an 870-mile range, state news reported. A naval cruise missile named for Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the Iraqi militia leader also killed in the strike, has a reported 620-mile range.
State-run IRNA news reported that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Amir Hatami participated via video conference in the unveiling, which also included the display of a fourth-generation light turbo-fan engine for the military’s advanced drones.
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