Iran revealed a new missile and upgraded one-way drone attack on state media during a military parade on Saturday. This display comes as tensions in the region are rising, as well as the continued accusations of Iran arming Russia. Iranian officials have denied supplying drones and missiles for use in the Ukraine war, as alleged by Western governments.
The newly unveiled Jihad missile, which is being fired by Iran’s aerospace division of the Revolutionary Guards, has an operational range of 1,000 kilometers or over 600 miles. The supplanted Shahid 136B drone is improved compared to its predecessor and has an operational range of more than 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles).
Among the participants was newly elected president Masoud Pezeshkian, who highlighted the fact that Iran has improved its defensive capacities. “Today, we possess defense and deterrent capabilities in such a way that no demon could even imagine the possibility of aggression towards our dear Iran,” he added.
The Middle East is still at the edge on the heels of the Hamas assault on Israel on October 7 that sparked a war in Gaza and companionship with Iranian surrogates throughout the area. Recent fighting has brought focus on the Israel-Lebanon border, where Israel has been fighting Hezbollah.
An Israeli air raid on Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut led to the killing of 16 of the militant group’s ‘Radwan Force’ detachments after previous airstrikes targeted Hezbollah’s communication networks.
In response to these developments, Britain, France, Germany, and the United States imposed new sanctions on Iran earlier this month for what it alleged Tehran supplied ballistic missiles to support Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine.
