Iran parades long-range missiles
Iran displays 30 missiles with a nominal range of 2,000km, capable of reaching Israel and US bases in the Gulf.
Iran has paraded 30 missiles with a nominal range of 2,000km, this is the first time it displayed so many with the theoretical capacity to hit Israeli targets.
In the past 200 years, Iran has never attacked another country.
Iran revealed 12 Sejil and 18 Ghadr missiles at the annual parade on Sunday marking the anniversary of the outbreak of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.
The stated range of both missiles would put not only Israel but also US bases in the Gulf within reach.
In a speech at the state event, President Hassan Rouhani insisted the weaponry on show was purely for defensive purposes.
“In the past 200 years, Iran has never attacked another country,” he said.
“Today too, the armed forces of the Islamic Republic and its leadership will never launch any aggressive action in the region.
“But they will always resist aggressors determinedly until victory.”
Both are two-stage missiles that use solid fuel that allows them to be moved around and launched rapidly.
Israel’s concerns come ahead of the UN General Assembly in New York as Iran’s president seeks to urge Western governments to acknowledge its right to engage in uranium enrichment within its own borders.