Does Iran have a hypersonic missile?
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Sulaiman
- . November 11, 2022
- . Update: November 11, 2022 6:42 pm
The commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard’s aerospace unit has said that the country has now developed a hypersonic missile that is capable of penetrating all the defense systems of world. The announcement from Tehran comes on the same day when United Nations nuclear watchdog IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) said that Iran had once again increased the production of highly enriched uranium.
“This hypersonic ballistic missile was developed to counter air defence shields,” Gen Amirali Hajizadeh told Iran’s Fars news agency. “It will be able to breach all the systems of anti-missile defence.” The development is likely to ramp up the global concerns around missile capabilities of Iran which have been seen as a priority of the Iranian regime.
Hypersonic missiles have ability to fly at least five times faster than the speed of sound and tread on a complex trajectory, making them very difficult to intercept. Last week, Iran revealed of having tested the Ghaem 100, its “first three stage space launch vehicle, which would be able to place satellites weighing 80 kilograms in an orbit 500 kilometres above the Earth’s surface, according to state media”. US had raised red flag over this citing the space launch vehicle can be used to transport a nuclear warhead. But Tehran has consistently rejected any plans of developing a nuclear weapon despite of ramped up uranium enrichment program.
Read | Iran agrees to set up a meeting on U.N. nuclear inquiry
“The news of Iran’s moves to increase its missile capabilities came as Tehran stepped up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, moving the country closer to being able to create a nuclear weapon,” the IAEA said on Thursday.
In the absence of 2018 nuclear program revival with US, IAEA and countries have been demanding assurances over Iran’s nuclear program and regular inspections of its facilities. But Iran has failed to offer satisfactory responses to the inquiries made by the IAEA about traces of “man made” uranium that was found at sites that were not previously declared to IAEA inspectors.
