Iranian Revolutionary Guards unveil 'new ballistic missile'
Iran's Revolutionary Guards on 7 February 2019 unveiled a new ballistic missile with a range of 1,000km, the official news agency Sepah News reported.
The surface-to-surface missile, called Dezful, is an upgrade on the older Zolfaghar model that had a range of 700km, aerospace commander Brig Gen Amirali Hajizadeh said.
The new weapon was revealed on 2 February 2019, when Iran said it had successfully tested a new cruise missile named Hoveizeh with a range of 1,350km. The unveiling ceremony was carried out by Revolutionary Commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari and Hajizadeh at an ‘underground ballistic missile production facility’, the report said.
The facility's location was not specified and pictures published by Sepah News showed only the two commanders in a room examining the missile.
Iran has voluntarily limited the range of its missiles to 2,000km, but that is still enough to hit Israel and US bases in the Middle East.
Tehran reined in most of its nuclear programme under a landmark 2015 deal with major powers but has kept up development of its ballistic missile technology. President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the nuclear accord in May and reimposed sanctions on Iran, citing the missile programme among its reasons.
Iran and the other signatories have stuck by the 2015 agreement, although some European governments have demanded an addition to address Tehran's ballistic missile programme and its intervention in regional conflicts.
UN Security Council Resolution 2231, adopted just after the nuclear deal, calls on Iran ‘not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons.’
Tehran insists that its missile development programme is ‘purely defensive’ and compliant with the resolution.
You may also like
More from Defence Notes
-
![Israel defence ministry pushes ambitious spending plans for tanks, drones and KC-46 aircraft]()
Israel defence ministry pushes ambitious spending plans for tanks, drones and KC-46 aircraft
The procurement and acceleration production plans – some of which still await approval – across the air and land domains will aim to strengthen the operational needs of the Israel Defense Forces.
-
![US reforms its defence acquisition system to focus on commercial capabilities]()
US reforms its defence acquisition system to focus on commercial capabilities
This shift is planned to accelerate the procurement and fielding of capabilities. As part of this strategy, the US also intends modernise its regulations in an attempt to change its bureaucratic and risk-averse culture.
-
![Australia’s Exercise Talisman Sabre concludes after a series of firsts]()
Australia’s Exercise Talisman Sabre concludes after a series of firsts
More than 40,000 military personnel from 19 participating nations took part in the 11th iteration of the biennial Exercise Talisman Sabre multi-domain event which was held across Australia and in Papua New Guinea.
-
![US Africa Command targets logistic solutions]()
US Africa Command targets logistic solutions
AFRICOM is seeking IT systems and supply chain management solutions to enhance interoperability and standardise logistical processes in its area of responsibility.
-
![Rheinmetall sales up by almost a quarter on wave of German spending]()
Rheinmetall sales up by almost a quarter on wave of German spending
Germany’s Rheinmetall released its 1H 2025 results on 7 August, continuing the strong growth of recent years. A particular highlight of the result’s presentation was the Skyranger air defence system for which the company is predicting sales of about US$8.2 billion from the German Government before the end of the year.
-
![Defence companies continue to ride procurement wave]()
Defence companies continue to ride procurement wave
Vehicle and technology companies are reporting substantial growth compared to the first half of 2024. Italy’s Fincantieri saw revenues jump 24% for the first half of the year compared to 2024 and Thales up 6.8% for the same period. General Dynamics reported second quarter revenue growth of 8.9% for the second quarter compared to last year and MilDef reported organic order intake growth of 58%.
