Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Iran’s high-ranking military official has said Iran will continue with its missile tests in due course.

The Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Hassan Firouzabadi said the tests would resume in line with the directives of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

Firouzabadi’s statements came after Iranian MPs demanded the resumption of missile tests in the country, Iranian media reported.

As response to recent military threats by the United States, the MPs signed a statement in which they have asked Firouzabadi to order the resumption of the Islamic Republic’s missile tests.

Iran is considered to have the largest and most diverse ballistic missile arsenal in the Middle East.

The Islamic Republic is the only country to develop a 2,000-km missile without first having nuclear weapons capability.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action has placed bans on the research and development of missiles that could carry nuclear warheads.

Iranian diplomats who reached the deal with the six world powers knows as the the P5+1 (the U.S, UK, France, Russia, China, and Germany) claim that since Iran has no plan to build nuclear-related missiles, its missile program is essentially not restricted by the deal.

The U.S. has already considered some older versions of Iranian-made missiles such as the Shahab series capable of being equipped with nuclear warheads.

Iran possesses long-range surface-to-surface Shahab missiles with a range about 2,000 km (1,250 miles) that are capable of reaching Israel and U.S. military bases in the Middle East.

Last July, Brigadier General Farzad Esmaeili, the commander of country’s Khatamol-Anbiya air defense said Iran would unveil a new missile system, capable of confronting electronic warfare in future.

In recent years, Iran has made several major breakthroughs in its defense sector and attained self-sufficiency in producing important military equipment and systems, including a variety of domestically-manufactured drones.

Since 1992, Iran has manufactured its own tanks, armored personnel carriers, missiles, radars, boats, submarines, and fighter planes.

The country has so far unveiled various domestically produced drones, including Ababil, Fotros, Hazem, Karrar (long range attack drone), Mohajer, Sarir, Shahed 129, Yasir and Zohal.

Iranian officials have always stressed that the country's military and arms programs serve defensive purposes and should not be perceived as a threat to any other country.

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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SaraRajabova

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