Tehran, Sep 22 (IANS) Iran inducted new indigenous long-range ballistic missiles and kamikaze drones at a parade of the armed forces, semi-official Fars news agency reported.
Iran has publicly demonstrated for the first time a ballistic missile called Jihad and a drone called Shahid-136B.
Both weapons were included in the parade at the tomb of Imam Khomeini, the late founder of the Islamic Republic, in southern Tehran.
According to the report, the event marks the start of the Sacred Defense Week, celebrated to commemorate the eight-year Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.
Jihad ballistic missile can accurately hit targets up to 1,000 kilometers away. It uses solid fuel.
The Jihad missile was designed and developed by the Aerospace Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), news agency Xinhua quoted Fars as saying.
According to Fars, the Shahid 136B drone, powered by a turbojet engine, can destroy targets located at a distance of more than 2,500 kilometers. This unmanned vehicle has also been designed and developed by the Aerospace Force of the IRGC.
At the parade, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stressed that Iran was capable of defending itself.
Pezeshkian said Tehran can ensure peace and security in the West Asian region through cooperation with other Muslim countries.
“Today, Iran’s defense power has grown to such a level that no ‘devil’ can dare or even think of taking any aggressive action against the country,” a statement published on the presidential office’s website said.
Earlier, in an operation, Iranian border guards foiled an attempt by a ‘terrorist group’ to infiltrate the country. According to local media, two members of the terrorist group were killed.
News agency Xinhua quoted Fars as saying that the terrorists were trying to enter Iran by crossing the border near the city of Sirkan in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan on Friday.
Iran’s border guard commander Ahmad Ali Goudarzi said intelligence was used to identify the group’s activities near the border. Following this, Iranian border guards “dealt a hard blow and defeat” the “terrorists”.
Sistan and Baluchistan province shares the border with Pakistan and Afghanistan. It has witnessed several terrorist attacks on civilians and security forces over the years.
–IANS
MK/CBT
