Iran to unveil long-range S-200-tied missile defense system

A senior Iranian commander says the country is to unveil a long-range missile defense system, connected to the S-200 missile system.

The commander of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Air Defense Base, Brigadier General Farzad Esmaili, said on Saturday that the Talaash-3 (Endeavor-3) system is to be unveiled on April 18, when the country marks National Army Day.

He pointed to the successful testing of the missile system’s short- and medium-range capability in the past and said, “The powerful missile system’s long-range [capability] will constitute great restlessness for the enemies of Islamic Iran.”

Esmaili said in August last year that the indigenously designed and manufactured missile defense system, which has a range of more than 200 kilometers, had successfully been put to test.

Protecting nuclear facilities

“We seek to close up all the loopholes allowing [potential] penetration by manned and unmanned enemy aircraft and different forms of potential conceivable aerial attacks [which could take place] in the future,” Esmaili said.

The official said Khatam al-Anbiya Air Defense Base monitors all the enemies’ movements and noted, “Iran possesses the safest skies in the Middle East.”

The outpost monitors 3,600 points across the country, Esmaili noted, saying the number of these locations “will rise to 5,000 in the near future.”

“Safeguarding [the country’s] nuclear facilities is among the base’s other missions.”

The Islamic Republic has repeatedly assured other countries that its military might poses no threat, saying that its defense doctrine is entirely based on deterrence.