The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps unveiled a new naval ballistic missile with a range of over 700 kilometers.
The IRGC’s new ballistic missile, “Zolfaqar Basir”, has been put on display in a permanent exhibition of the achievements of the IRGC Aerospace Force that was inaugurated on Sunday morning.
Known as the latest version of a new generation of ‘Persian Gulf’ missiles, Zolfaqar Basir has a range of above 700 kilometers and its warhead is equipped with an optical seeker.
The range of the IRGC’s previous naval missiles, Persian Gulf and Hormuz, was around 300 and 250 km respectively.
The ground-to-ground version of Zolfaqar missile has a range of about 750 kilometers. It was used in an operation against Daesh terrorists in Syria in October 2018 and in a missile attack on the US airbase of Ain al-Assad in Iraq in January 2020.
Iranian officials have repeatedly underscored that the country will not hesitate to strengthen its military capabilities, including its missile power, which are entirely meant for defense, and that Iran’s defense capabilities will be never subject to negotiations.
Back in February 2018, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei called for efforts to maintain and boost Iran’s defense capabilities, hitting back at the enemies for disputing the country’s missile program.
“Without a moment of hesitation, the country must move to acquire whatever is necessary for defense, even if the whole world is opposed to it,” Ayatollah Khamenei said at the time.
