Iran showcased its Khaybar Shekan ballistic missile on Wednesday in an event in Tehran near the Azadi Sports Complex, according to pro-government media in Iran. The missile is now the pride of the Tehran regime because it was used to target an area in northwestern Syria. Iran claimed to be targeting “Takfiri” groups, a word they use for ISIS and other extremists. However, Iranian media also claimed in mid-January, after the missile was used, that it was a “message” to Israel.
Tasnim News showed the missile on display in Iran in a report on Wednesday. The media said that four of these large ballistic missiles had been used in January and they had been fired from southern Iran.
This is an important point for the Iranian regime. It marks the “IRGC’s longest-range missile operation,” the report says. Iran could have fired the missiles from northern Iran. It purposely fired them from the south to see if they could reach the 1,300km range intended for the missiles.
A show of strength
This is important for Iran’s missile program and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in general. Iran wants to show that its missile arsenal is improving. This is a message to Israel, the US and other countries in the region.
Iran says it has now produced a “third generation” of these long range missiles for the IRGC. Tasnim called the latest generation missile. The report says “this missile has solid fuel, and in the landing phase, it has maneuverability to pass through the missile shield, and its optimal design has reduced its weight by one-third compared to similar samples, and its preparation and firing time has been reduced by one-sixth.”
Iran estimates that the latest generation can reach 1,450km. It remains to be seen if Iran can achieve this range with the missile, after the attack on Syria earlier this month.
Source » jpost