Iran announces new missile production amid US tension

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – Iranian authorities on Saturday announced the launch of a new missile production line despite recent tensions between the United States and Tehran.

According to Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan, the “Sayyad-3” missile can reach an approximate altitude of 27 kilometers (17 miles).

The missile can also travel at a speed of nearly 120 kilometers (75 miles), Defense Minister Dehghan said at an official ceremony.

“The missile can target fighter planes, unmanned aerial vehicles, cruise missiles, and helicopters,” the Defense Minister revealed.

On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump and his administration imposed new economic sanctions on Tehran.

The US government said the sanctions targeted 18 entities and people for backing “illicit Iranian actors or transnational criminal activity.”

The Trump administration added the sanctions were enforced over Tehran’s ballistic missile program and its “malign activities” in the Middle East which destabilized any “positive contributions” from the 2015 Iran nuclear accord.

Washington’s new sanctions on Tehran were an indication the Trump administration seeks to increase pressure on Iran regarding its nuclear program.

Meanwhile, Dehghan suggested the US’ new arms deal with Saudi Arabia was intended as a threat to Iran.

“We recently witnessed an immense purchase that some countries in the region paid as ransom to America,” he stated.

The Defense Minister was referring to the recent $110 billion agreement which he said was meant “to bring weapons into the region.”

“This purchase was arranged with the goal of threatening Islamic Iran,” Deghen added, according to comments carried by state television.

Editing by G.H. Renaud