In an exclusive interview with Iran’s Tasnim News Agency over the weekend, Iranian 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 “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 “Martyr Abu Mahdi” after Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, an Iranian ally and head of the Iraqi Kataib Hezbollah, who was killed in the same strike.
The armed forces would soon triple the range of these missiles, Hatami said. “The capability is very important for us,” he said, adding that it is a top priority.
The short statements indicate the Islamic Republic’s obsession with pushing the range of its missiles amid the recent normalization deals between Israel and Gulf states. Iran has threatened Bahrain and called Arab states traitors for working with the Jewish state.
Tehran is very concerned about the way its position is being eroded in the region, even as it uses Houthi rebels to strike at Saudi Arabia while seeking 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 sent ballistic missiles to Iraq and drones to Syria to threaten Israel.
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