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Iran claims to have developed a hypersonic missile capable of penetrating modern defence systems and could be capable of delivering a nuclear payload. Reacting to the announcement, CFI Parliamentary Chairman (Commons) Rt. Hon. Stephen Crabb MP criticised “years of complacency and wishful thinking by the West” and giving Iran a “free pass” to develop its weapons programme.
The announcement was made by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force commander General Amirali Hajizadeh. The senior commander told the Iranian Fars news network: “This hypersonic ballistic missile was developed to counter air defence shields…It will be able to breach all the systems of anti-missile defence…This missile, which targets enemy anti-missile systems, represents a great generational leap in the field of missiles”. He added that he believes it would take decades to develop a defence system capable of stopping this new hypersonic missile.
Rt. Hon. Stephen Crabb MP tweeted regarding the reports: “Years of complacency and wishful thinking by the West bears inevitable fruit. JCPOA gave Iran a free pass to develop its ballistic weapons programme and fight proxy wars. Any new nuclear deal with Iran must not repeat the mistake”.
Hypersonic missiles, unlike ballistic missiles, can fly on a low trajectory, potentially reaching targets more quickly but similar to traditional missiles they can also carry a nuclear payload and travel five times faster than the speed of sound. Hypersonic missiles are manoeuvrable making them more difficult to track and while countries such as the United States have developed systems to defend against ballistic missiles, questions remain on whether we have the technology to track and protect against hypersonic weapons.
Western powers have voiced concerns over Iran’s missile programme for months and the U.S. imposed sanctions on Iran’s missile manufacturing activities in March. On 5th November, Iran completed a successful test flight of rockets capable of propelling satellites into space, which raised concerns that it could use such rocket technology in a nuclear weapons programme.
This news comes against the backdrop of stalled talks over a renewed JCPOA agreement with Iran continuing to pursue nuclear weapons linked technology meaning it could deliver a nuclear payload. Iran’s actions are compounded with reports it is providing weapons to Russia and is even preparing to deliver ballistic missiles to the country, an added complexity to the JCPOA negotiations given Russia is a party at the talks in Vienna.
