Iran has just launched a new missile, whose range is advertised as being able to reach US military bases in the Middle East and targets inside Israel.
Iran’s state television reported that the new solid-fuel missile has a range of up to 1,450km. Tehran calls the missile “Kheibarshekan,” which in the local dialect means “weapon that destroys Khaibar,” reminiscent of a Jewish castle destroyed by Muslims in the early days of Islam
The semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that the Kheibarshekan was presented during a visit by Iranian military leaders to missile bases of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on February 9.
“This strategic weapon is a 3rd generation long-range missile developed by the IRGC, which is solid-fuelled and is capable of penetrating missile shields with high manoeuvrability. The revised design of Kheibarshekan. has reduced the weight by a third compared to similar missiles”, quoted Tasnim news. The news agency added that the developers also cut the preparation time for the launch of the rocket to only one-sixth of the normal requirement.
The move comes a day after the sides resumed indirect negotiations in Vienna to save the 2015 international nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.
According to Reuters, the delegations involved in the negotiations in Vienna stressed that they have made only very limited progress since the resumption of negotiations in November last year. Western powers say there’s not much time left before Iran makes nuclear advances that make the 2015 deal superfluous.
Ali Shamkhani, Iran’s top security official, on February 9 criticized Washington’s approach. “Voices from the US government show that there is no unity in this country to make political decisions in the direction of promoting negotiations in Vienna,” Shamkhani wrote on Twitter.
