Iran unveils first hypersonic ballistic missile with boasts it can bypass Western defences
Iran issue threats saying Fattah missile can reach Israel in 400 seconds and evade the Iron Dome
Reuters
Iranian officials have brandished their first hypersonic ballistic missile which Iran claims can bypass most US missile systems and Israel’s Iron Dome.
In an unveiling ceremony attended by Iranian President Ebrahim Rasi on Tuesday morning, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) presented the ‘Fattah’ missile purportedly capable of reaching speeds of Mach 14 with a range of 1,400 km.
State media, IRNA, announced in its broadcast: "It can bypass the most advanced anti-ballistic missile systems of the United States and... Israel's Iron Dome.”
In November 2022, Iran’s Sobh-e-Sadegh newspaper published a threat in Hebrew on its front page, reading "400 seconds: General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Aerospace Force, said that Iran has obtained technology for hypersonic missiles."
Iran President Raisi met with Vladimir Putin via video link last month
Reuters
At an event that month, Hajizadeh hinted that Iran had developed a missile with the “ability to manoeuvre in and out of the atmosphere,” and threatened that Israel could be reached in 400 seconds.
Hajizadeh went on to be bullish about a war in space: "Both defence systems that defend inside the atmosphere and extremely expensive systems that deal with missiles outside the atmosphere – this new missile of the Islamic Republic of Iran will pass all of them, and I don’t think that technology will be found that can deal with it for decades to come."
In 2018, concerns surrounding Iran’s ballistic missile systems fed into then-US President Donald Trump’s decision to ditch Tehran’s 2015 nuclear pact with six major powers.
While ICBM missiles can travel at the same speed as hypersonic missiles, the former travel in a predictable arc whereas hypersonic missiles are manoeuvrable.
Iran also announced new Kheibar precision-guided missiles last week
Reuters
US, Russia, China and North Korea have successfully tested hypersonic missiles.
The Fattah hypersonic ballistic missile unveiling ceremony was also attended by IRGC Commander-in-Chief Hossein Salami and other high-ranking officials.
The news comes days after Iran flaunted a new range of Kheibar precision-guided missiles, the latest in Iran’s Khorramshahr long-range missiles.
The long-range ballistic missile is professed to have a range of 2,000 km and be ready to launch in less than 12 minutes.
Russian and Iran are looking to strengthen their alliance
Reuters
President Ebrahim Raisi met with President of Russia Vladimir Putin via video link on May 17 to sign a rail deal to finance and build an Iranian railway line as part of a corridor intended to rival the Suez Canal.
Putin said: "The unique North-South transport artery, of which the Rasht-Astara railway will become a part, will significantly diversity global traffic flows."
Raisi responded: "Without a doubt, this agreement is an important and strategic step in the direction of cooperation between Tehran and Moscow."
The Rasht-Astara railway is intended to connect India, Iran, Russia, Azerbajan and other countries via railway and sea.
In June last year, an Iranian scientist on the top secret missiles and drones programme died in mysterious circumstances after a dinner party.
Ayoob Entezari’s death was the second in the same unit in just two weeks.
The name of Fattah, meaning victory or victor, was reportedly chosen by the supreme leader.
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