Iran to unveil Meshkat medium-range cruise missile

Iran’s deputy defense minister has announced the country plans to unveil a homegrown medium-range cruise missile in the near future.

“Meshkat cruise missile, which God willing will be unveiled soon, has a range of more than 2,000 kilometers. It will be the upper hand of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Brigadier General Mehdi Farahi, who is also the director of Defense Ministry’s Aerospace Organization, said on Sunday.

“Meshkat cruise missile will have submarine-, ground- and air-launched properties and could also be fired from a warplane,” the general said.

Farahi said the Iranian Defense Ministry has already produced five cruise missiles, namely, Zafar, Nasr, Nour, Qaser and Ghadir, adding that the development of nine more cruise missiles is under study.

He went on to say that Iran is upgrading the “precision, radar-invasiveness, tactical aspects and durability” of its missiles.

The general, however, noted that the development of cluster warheads does not lie within Iran’s defense strategies, stressing that the country has done a lot in tweaking missile warheads, which is an important factor in upgrading ballistic missiles.

Farahi played down the US deployment of missile defense systems in the region, saying they could never overpower Iranian missiles. “We hope that nothing would happen. But if any confrontation is to take place, they will see how their claims will turn out to be groundless.”

In recent years, Iran has made great achievements in the defense sector and gained self-sufficiency in essential military hardware and defense systems.

Iran has repeatedly assured other nations, especially regional neighbors, that its military might poses no threat to other countries, insisting that its defense doctrine is merely based on deterrence.