Iran’s Def. Min. reveals ‘strength’ of new missiles that threaten Israel

SEPTEMBER 13, 2020 11:47

In an exclusive interview with Iran’s Tasnim news over the weekend Iran’s Defense Minister Amir Hatami spoke of the strength, readiness and capability of his defense forces and their new missile capabilities. He spoke directly about new missiles that were unveiled on August 31.

Hatami discussed the quality and quantity of the missiles and said it was one of the great achievements in the field of missiles that the country has seen. Iran has named these new missiles “The martyr Qasem Soleimani” after the late IRGC Quds Force commander who was killed by the US in January. The second type of missile is named “The Martyr Abu Mahdi” after Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, an Iranian ally and head of the Iraqi Kataib Hezbollah who was also killed by the US in January. Hatami also said that the armed forces would soon triple the range of these missiles. “The capability is very important for us.” He said these capabilities are top priorities.

The short statements, indicate Iran’s obsession with pushing the range of its missile amid the recent normalization deals between Israel and the Gulf. Iran has threatened Bahrain and called Arab states traitors for working with Israel. Tehran is very concerned about the way its position is being eroded in the region, even as it seeks to use the Houthi rebels to strike at Saudi Arabia and seeks to undermine Iraq’s government, gobble up Syria and use Hezbollah. Iran’s new missiles have an alleged range of 1,400 km and 1,000 km respectively.

These ranges are not arbitrary. They are designed to show that Iran can reach almost all the way to Israel. That is because Israel’s borders are just 1,000 km from Iran. Tehran knows its messaging matters. In the past it has trafficked ballistic missiles to Iraq and sent drones to Syria to threaten Israel.

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