Iran this week unveiled what its regime described as a domestically built long-range, surface-to-air missile air defence system, at a time of rising hostilities with the U.S.
State media broadcast images of Iranian leader Hassan Rouhani attending an unveiling celebration for the mobile Bavar-373 system, which has been described by local media as a competitor to the Russian S-300 missile system.
Iran’s Defence Minister Amir Hatami told state media: “With this long-range air defense system, we can detect…targets or planes at more than 300km (190 miles), lock it at about 250km, and destroy it at 200km”.
The system’s unveiling came on Iran’s National Defence Industry Day. Iran has developed a robust domestic arms industry despite international sanctions and embargoes that have barred the country from importing many weapons.
Iran’s long-range ballistic missile programme prompted Washington’s withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, more widely known as the Iran Nuclear Deal.
In June, a U.S. military surveillance drone was shot down in the Gulf by an Iranian surface-to-air projectile. The Iranians claimed that the drone strayed into their territory, while the U.S. said it was in international airspace.
On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned a United Nations Security Council meeting that, under the terms of the Iran pact, a UN arms embargo on Iran was due to lapse in October 2020.
