TEHRAN: Iran’s Revolutionary Guard general on Thursday claimed the Islamic Republic had developed a hypersonic missile capable of penetrating all defense systems, sparking concern from the United Nations nuclear watchdog.
Hypersonic missiles can fly at five or more times the speed of sound, similar to conventional ballistic missiles capable of launching nuclear weapons.
“This hypersonic ballistic missile was developed to counter air defense shields,” General Amirali Hajizadeh, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ aerospace forces, was quoted by Iran’s Fars news agency.
“It would be able to defeat all systems of anti-missile defense,” the general said, adding that he believed it would be decades before a system capable of intercepting it was developed. Targeting enemy anti-missile systems, this missile represents a major generational leap in the field of missiles.”
UN nuclear watchdog expresses concern over announcement
Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), expressed concern about the announcement. Speaking as a bystander at the COP27 climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Grossi said, “All of these announcements have raised awareness, raised concerns and raised public awareness of Iran’s nuclear program. You can see that
However, he added that he did not believe this would “impact” negotiations on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.
The announcement came after Iran admitted to sending drones to Russia on Saturday, but said it did so before the war in Ukraine.
The Washington Post reported on October 16 that Iran was preparing to deliver missiles to Russia, but Tehran dismissed the report as “completely false.”
Published at dawn on November 11, 2022
